Place
Lake Kariba – Zambia/Zimbabwe
Client
Republic of Zambia
Year
2017 - in progress
Description for Kariba Dam (Zambia-Zimbabwe)
This project foresees the rehabilitation for the safety improvement of the existing Kariba dam, a double curvature concrete arch dam 128 m – high on the Zambezi river, built between 1957 and 1959 and on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
This dam has a world record, creating the world’s largest reservoir (with a volume of 181 km3). This large reservoir is for hydropower use. Two underground power stations, the one on the North side supplies 960 MW to Zambia, while the one on the South side supplies 750 MW to Zimbabwe, for a total IP of around 1700 MW.
The main works for the rehabilitation include the reshaping of the plunge pool excavated by floods, comprising all the relevant works such as temporary cofferdam, roads, dam monitoring, spillway gates rehabilitation, etc.
Studio Pietrangeli (SP) is the Advisor for the European Union.
Main Features
- Double curvature arch dam ( H = 128 m, L = 617 m )
- Reservoir Capacity ( V = 181 km3 )
- Spillway in the dam body ( No. 6 gated bays, Qflood = 9,000 m3/s )
- No. 2 Underground Powerhouses ( North: IP = 960 MW, South: IP = 750 MW )
- Plunge pool in the river bed excavated by the floods ( D = 80 m )
- Temporary cofferdam with stop-logs ( H = 15 m )
Engineering Services
- Conformity of the works with Contract documents
- Monitoring of the progress of the works
- Project Management assessment
- Technical and Financial Audit