Batoka Gorge Dam | |
---|---|
Country | Zambia/Zimbabwe |
Coordinates | 17°55′11″S26°07′51″E / 17.91972°S 26.13083°E |
Purpose | Power |
Status | Proposed |
Dam and spillways | |
Type of dam | Arch gravity |
Impounds | Zambezi River |
Height | 181 m (594 ft) |
Width (crest) | 12 m (39 ft) |
Width (base) | 97.8 m (321 ft) |
Spillway capacity | 20,000 m3/s (710,000 cu ft/s) |
Reservoir | |
Total capacity | 1,680×10 6 m3 (1,360,000 acre⋅ft) |
Catchment area | 508,000 km2 (196,000 sq mi) |
Turbines | 12 x 200 MW Francis-type |
Installed capacity | 2400 MW |
The proposed Batoka Gorge Hydroelectric Power Station is a 2400 MW hydroelectric power station, planned for the Zambezi River on the international border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. [1]
The proposed power station will be located on the Zambezi River, approximately 54 kilometres (34 mi), downstream of Victoria Falls, straddling the international border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. [2]
Currently, the proposal is for two power plants, each with an installed capacity of 1200 MW; one on the Zambian side and another on the Zimbabwean side. The dam to supply the reservoir with water will be a 181 metres (594 ft) tall arch-gravity type. [3]
The project is being implemented by the Zambezi River Authority, a bi-national organization mandated to operate, monitor and maintain the Kariba Dam complex as well as exploit the full potential of the Zambezi River. [4]
As in the proposal in the 1990s that was stopped, and now, again, stakeholders and the local community are strongly opposed to the dam's construction. Despite opposition, in June 2019, the Zambian and Zimbabwean governments signed a deal to build the dam with General Electric and a Chinese company, "Power China." [5] In 2023, Zambia canceled the contract, citing high costs and failure to follow proper procurement procedures. [6] In another turn of events in September 2023, UNESCO granted permission for the dam project to proceed even with critics' environmental and tourism concerns. [7]
The tourism industry generated by the current Batoka Gorge, including its whitewater rafting, employs thousands of local individuals, both directly and indirectly, and has been acknowledged as the third largest contributor to Zambia's economy. [8] Detractors of the dam have concerns about the impact on the region’s white-water rapids enterprises. Critics argue the dam poses a flooding threat to the river rapids. Zambezi whitewater rapids tours are renowned for being among the best commercially operated day and multi-day trips worldwide. [5] [9] [10] Rafting trips on the Zambezi draw thousands of global tourists annually, in both the wet and dry seasons. [9] If the proposal moves forward, the rafting industry will lose an estimated $4 million annually. [9]
The forming of a narrow, deep-water reservoir behind the dam is expected to have local ecosystem consequences. Concerns over the lake’s ability to sustain large fish populations threaten area fishing tourism. [5] [10] Some dam proponents suggest it could open up new tourism opportunities, such as parasailing and wakeboarding. However, dangerous animals like hippos and crocodiles in flat waters raise safety concerns. [11] The Zambezi basin is known for providing various ecosystem services. Constructing the dam is anticipated to have lasting effects on the region, particularly the nature tourism industry. [10]
There is some doubt that the dam will be fulfilling its stated aim of providing electricity to rural communities, as it will be connected to the Southern African Power Pool. [12] The dam could also cause the river to back up to within 650 metres of Victoria Falls, according to an article published in Zambezia. [13] This would violate the preservation boundary below the falls, which is 12 km according to UNESCO World Heritage Site agreements. [14] Thus, if the dam proposal moves forward,Victoria Falls could become a World Heritage in Danger. [15]
These perspectives are part of the ongoing debate surrounding the proposed dam and the potential consequences.
As of July 2018, the projected cost of development was estimated at US$4.5 billion. General Electric Africa has expressed interest in developing this power station under the design-build-operate-transfer arrangement, but with ownership reverting to Zambia and Zimbabwe, after the developers have recovered their investment plus profits. [4]
In June 2019, Bloomberg News reported that the construction contract had been awarded to a consortium comprising General Electric of the United States and Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina). [1] Construction is expected to take from ten to thirteen years. [16]
The Kariba Dam is a double curvature concrete arch dam in the Kariba Gorge of the Zambezi river basin between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The dam stands 128 metres (420 ft) tall and 579 metres (1,900 ft) long. The dam forms Lake Kariba, which extends for 280 kilometres (170 mi) and holds 185 cubic kilometres (150,000,000 acre⋅ft) of water.
Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bordered to the north by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique to the southeast, Zimbabwe and Botswana to the south, Namibia to the southwest, and Angola to the west. The capital city of Zambia is Lusaka, located in the south-central part of Zambia. The population is concentrated mainly around Lusaka in the south and the Copperbelt Province to the north, the core economic hubs of the country.
The Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers 1,390,000 km2 (540,000 sq mi), slightly less than half of the Nile's. The 2,574 km (1,599 mi) river rises in Zambia and flows through eastern Angola, along the north-eastern border of Namibia and the northern border of Botswana, then along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe to Mozambique, where it crosses the country to empty into the Indian Ocean.
Victoria Falls is a waterfall on the Zambezi River, located on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is one of the world's largest waterfalls, with a width of 1,708 m (5,604 ft). The region around it is inhabited by several species of plants and animals.
Livingstone is a city in Zambia. Until 1935, it served as the capital of Northern Rhodesia. Lying 10 km (6 mi) to the north of the Zambezi River, it is a tourism attraction center for the Victoria Falls and a border town with road and rail connections to Zimbabwe on the other side of the Victoria Falls. A historic British colonial city, its present population was enumerated at 177,393 inhabitants at the 2022 census. It is named after David Livingstone, the Scottish explorer and missionary who was the first European to explore the area. Until 2011, Livingstone was the provincial capital of Zambia's Southern Province.
Victoria Falls, popularly known as Vic Falls, is a resort town and city in the province of Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. It lies on the southern bank of the Zambezi River at the western end of Victoria Falls themselves. According to the 2022 Population Census, the town had a population of 35,199.
Mana Pools National Park is a 219,600-hectare (543,000-acre) wildlife conservation area and national park in northern Zimbabwe. It is a region of the lower Zambezi in Zimbabwe where the floodplain turns into a broad expanse of lakes after each rainy season. As the lakes gradually dry up and recede, the region attracts many large animals in search of water, making it one of Africa's most renowned game-viewing regions.
Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is home to one-half of the Mosi-oa-Tunya—"The Smoke that Thunders", known worldwide as Victoria Falls—on the Zambezi River. The river forms the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, so the falls are shared by the two countries, and the park is twin to the Victoria Falls National Park on the Zimbabwean side.
Kazungula is a small border town in Zambia, lying on the north bank of the Zambezi River about 70 kilometres (45 mi) west of Livingstone on the M10 Road.
Southern Province is one of Zambia's ten provinces. It is home to Zambia's premier tourist attraction, Mosi-oa-Tunya, shared with Zimbabwe. The centre of the province, the Southern Plateau, has the largest area of commercial farmland of any Zambian province, and produces most of the maize crop.
The Taita falcon is a small falcon found in central and eastern Africa. It was first described from the Taita Hills of Kenya from which it derives its name.
The T1 or Lusaka–Livingstone Road is the main highway of the Southern Province of Zambia. It begins 55 kilometres south of the city of Lusaka and heads south-west to the principal tourist destination, Victoria Falls in Livingstone, via Mazabuka, Monze, Choma and Kalomo, measuring approximately 430 kilometres (267 mi). The entire route is part of Trans-African Highway network number 4 or Cairo-Cape Town Highway between Cairo and Cape Town.
Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, (ZESA) whose official name is ZESA Holdings (Private) Limited, is a state-owned company whose task is to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity in Zimbabwe.
Operation Noah was a wildlife rescue operation on the Zambezi River lasting from 1958 to 1964. In the late 1950s, Northern and Southern Rhodesia constructed the Kariba Dam hydroelectric power station across the Zambezi River, at the Kariba Gorge, about 400 km from Victoria Falls. The Kariba Dam mostly provided electric power to both countries, created Lake Kariba, the world's largest man-made lake, and flooded the Kariba Gorge - home to thousands of native animals and the local Tonga people. In a wildlife rescue operation lasting 5 years, over 6000 animals were rescued and relocated to the mainland.
The Kafue Gorge Upper Power Station (KGU), is an operational 900 megawatts (1,206,920 hp) hydroelectric power plant across the Kafue River in Zambia.
Mphanda Nkuwa Dam is a proposed hydroelectric dam on the Zambezi River in Mozambique. The dam would be located about 60 kilometres (37 mi) downstream of the existing Cahora Bassa Dam near the city of Tete. Its power station would have a capacity of 1,500 megawatts.
Kafue may refer to:
Kafue Gorge Lower Power Station (KGL), is a 750 megawatts (1,010,000 hp) hydroelectric power station in Zambia.
Power Construction Corporation of China, branded as PowerChina, is a wholly state-owned enterprise administered by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and part of the heavy and civil engineering construction industry.