Is ageing Kariba Dam Wall doomed?
Sifelani Tsiko The Interview
A new study by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health warns that ageing dams pose a growing threat to public safety due to the potential for dam failures, over topping or leaks. Kariba Dam, a 128-metre-tall dam which stores 180 cubic kilometres of water straddling Zimbabwe and Zambia on the Zambezi River is cited as an example in the report. In this report, our Agriculture, Environment & Innovations Editor
Sifelani Tsiko (ST) speaks to the Zambezi River Authority chief executive Engineer
Munyaradzi Munodawafa (MM) on the findings of the report and how the authority is working to minimise the potential threats to human safety and the environment posed by the Kariba Dam.
THE Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) is progressing work at the Kariba Dam Rehabilitation Project (KDRP).
In a January 19 update, the authority said that ongoing KDRP works comprise two components, namely reshaping of the plunge pool and the refurbishment of the spillway gates.
The project aims to enhance the structural integrity of the Kariba dam wall for efficient power generation for the benefit of Zambia and Zimbabwe and the Southern African region as a whole.
The reshaping of the plunge pool, which started in May 2017 and is now 60% complete, involves excavation of the rock in the pool in order to increase the pool volume and minimise erosion which can undercut the dam foundations.
Cameroon launches the construction of a XAF9 bln bridge to facilitate mobility around the Lom Pangar dam
(Business in Cameroon) - Today January 18, 2021, Cameroon s Minister of Water and Energy Gaston Eloundou Essomba is presiding over the launch of the construction of the Lom River bridge in Touraké, in the eastern region of the country. This 140-meter long infrastructure will be built by civil engineering group Razel.
According to state-owned company EDC, thanks to the Touraké bridge (which will cost XAF9 billion), people and goods can safely cross the Lom River at any time of the year, even after the Lom Pangar dam is filled.
(Business in Cameroon) - Last December 16, during a press conference, the Ministry of Public Works unveiled part of the contractual clauses that bind Cameroon to the French consortium Razel Bec-Egis, in charge of financing, designing, building, equipping, operating, and maintaining the 14 automatic toll booths in the country.
The said partnership contract covers a 20-year period, including two years of construction and 18 years of operation. During the construction period, over 300 direct and many indirect jobs will be created, we learn.
To promote local employment, the Razel Bec-Egis consortium has committed to reserving 95% of the overall hourly labor volume required to Cameroonians, and hiring 98% of the staff dedicated to operation and maintenance services from the national workforce,” the communication material distributed by the ministry reads.
Vinci scoops £174M Paris Grand Express viaduct contract
A consortium led by Vinci Construction has been picked to build the £174M (€193M) viaduct for line 18 of the Grand Paris Express.
Société du Grand Paris handed the consortium, which includes Vinci subsidiaries Dodin Campenon Bernard, Chantiers Modernes Construction, Freyssinet and Razel-Bec, the project which will see a 6.7km long viaduct constructed between Massy-Palaiseau and the future overhead CEA Saint-Aubin station.
The contract covers all the civil engineering work on the 6.7 km structure, with the voussoirs used to construct the arches being precast locally. The viaduct will be located towards the middle of line 18, a metro line that will connect 10 stations between Orly airport and Versailles.