Zambia call for help in the restoration of the Kariba Dam

The 54-year-old Kariba dam on the Zambezi river presents significant structural problems and requires immediate rehabilitation measures as it threatens Zambia and three other countries. More than 3.5 million people living in Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi are going to the affected in the event of a dam failure. The Zambezi River Authority, managing the trans-boundary dam, is appealing to the World Bank, the European Union, the African Development Bank and other international lenders to raise the $250 million required for the repair works. On the other hand Zimbabwe government officials state that the dam is stable and there is no need for concern.

The weakening of the 128-meter dam wall has urged an appeal for financial support, so that remedial measures are undertaken on time and prevent a potential collapse, which will affect about 3.5 million people living downstream. A series of rehabilitation works is required to protect the dam's main components, while preserving power generation in accordance to international standards. According to Elizabeth Karonga, spokesperson for Zambezi River Authority, the dam spillway no longer bends or opens automatically as a result of the concrete expansion and rust accumulating on the steel bars. Moreover, the plunge pool has considerably deepened from 10m, when the dam was first built in 1959, to 90m today and is slowly moving towards the dam wall. Her greatest fear is that the plunge pool may soon be destabilized and eventually collapse, as a result of the continuing erosion of the stabilizing rock layer, hence urging for reshaping and stabilization works. 

Rudo Sanyanga, director of the International River's Africa Programme calls experts to evaluate the situation and determine the remaining lifespan of the dam, which today concentrates over 64,800Mm³ of water, that being translated to a year's worth of the river's flow.