The Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) has awarded the $53.6-million contract for the rehabilitation of the Kariba Dam spillway, a major component of the Kariba Dam rehabilitation project (KDRP), to a consortium comprising GE Hydro France & Freyssinet International.
ZRA CE Munyaradzi Munodawafa on Monday confirmed that, together with the plunge pool reshaping, “the refurbishment of the spillway will ensure the long-term safe operation of the Kariba Dam for many more years, [as well as its] continued contribution to Zambia and Zimbabwe’s energy security and economic prosperity”.
The spillway will be refurbished over four years and is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2023.
The contractor started mobilising to site in September and will complete this process gradually over a period of ten months.
The spillway refurbishment works are expected to generate a limited number of jobs for unskilled and semiskilled workers. However, the works will stimulate local businesses, given the influx of people into the area.
The spillway works, like the plunge pool works, will not require the relocation of people from the project site or adversely affect water levels in the reservoir and fauna and flora in the dam area, Munodawafa said.
The KDRP is funded by four cooperating partners, namely the European Union, the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the government of Sweden.
The loan and grant financing committed to the KDRP project by the World Bank and the AfDB are primarily funding the spillway rehabilitation works and the supervision costs of both the spillway refurbishment and plunge pool reshaping works contracts.
ZRA operates, maintains and manages the Kariba Dam on behalf of the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe.