Efforts to adequately fund the $290-million rehabilitation of the Kariba dam, on the Zambezi river basin, have proven successful as the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) moves to finalise pledges totalling $280-million.

The ZRA said this month that it had embarked on the final funding preparations for the project that would avert a power deficit for the Southern Africa region in future.

The Kariba dam and its hydroelectric scheme, constructed between 1956 and 1959 across the Zambezi river between Zambia and Zimbabwe, had been central to energy security and supporting economic development in the two nations over the past 50 years.

The Kariba dam was one of the world’s largest hydro dams, generating more than 1 300 MW of hydropower.

In May, the Zambia government issued an urgent appeal to financiers for funding to revamp and upgrade the system after warnings of potential collapse of the dam wall within the next few years.

A collapse of the dam’s 128-m-high wall could cause flooding from the Zambezi river and affect parts of Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique.

The rehabilitation works proposed include the design, fabrication and installation of an emergency gate and new gantry to prevent uncontrolled loss of water in the event of floodgate failure; the refurbishment of the upstream stop-beam guides; the replacement of secondary concrete to prevent failure during the operation of stop beams; and the reshaping of the plunge pool downstream of the dam to limit scouring and erosion that could potentially undermine the dam foundations, leading to dam failure.

“A number of issues relating to implementation were discussed [at a meeting last month], which paves the way to ensure the rehabilitation works are adequately funded, with expertise that will undertake the project to meet international safety standards [giving] a new lease of life to the Kariba dam,” ZRA CEO Munyaradzi Munodawafa said.

The European Union would invest $100-million, with $75-million each expected from the World Bank group and the African Development Bank.

Sweden was considering injecting about $30-million, with the balance to be covered by the ZRA.