Zimbabwe River Authority (ZRA) announced that rehabilitation of Kariba dam will start in the first quarter of 2017. “Itis anticipated that by the year end, the procurement process will be finalized and project execution for the plunge pool reshaping project will start during the first quarter of 2017,” said ZRA spokesperson Elisabeth Karongo.

Cost for the rehabilitation works has been estimated at $294 million. The funding was provided by various financial institutions including African Development Bank ($75 million) European Union ($100 million), Swedish government ($25 million), and World Bank ($75 million) and other investors ($19.2 million).

The rehabilitation which is carried out by Zambia and Zimbabwe will help prevent the dam from crumbling thus endangering 3.5 million people. The infrastructure, which is one of the biggest in the world, has an installed capacity of 1,319 MW and is 128 metres tall.

Gwladys Johnson