A key milestone has been reached in one of Africa’s most significant hydro-infrastructure projects, as commissioning begins on Sluice 2 of the Kariba Dam Spillway Refurbishment, Gruner Stucky has announced. Initial tests are reported to have produced promising results, marking a major step forward in the years-long effort to reinforce the safety and resilience of the continent’s largest hydropower dam.
Perched on the Zambezi River and straddling the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, the Kariba Dam has been a cornerstone of Southern Africa’s power generation since its commissioning in 1960. At 128m high and with a reservoir volume of 183 cubic kilometres, Lake Kariba remains the world’s largest man-made reservoir by volume. Its 2,010MW installed capacity supplies electricity to both countries, making its operational integrity crucial to the region’s energy security.
After decades of continuous service, structural rehabilitation of the dam’s spillway became critical. Since 2019, a consortium of international and regional engineering partners has been working on the complex refurbishment. The project has involved the replacement and upgrading of critical spillway components, all carried out without lowering the reservoir level — a feat requiring intricate cofferdam systems, underwater operations, and precise coordination.
The rehabilitation is financed by the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and the Swedish Government through a mix of loans and grants to the Republics of Zambia and Zimbabwe. These funds support both the immediate technical upgrades and the long-term sustainability of one of the region’s most vital pieces of infrastructure.
With commissioning of the second sluice underway and all six sluices nearing completion, the project is entering its final stages. It stands as not only a technical achievement but also a symbol of successful regional cooperation and international partnership.
As Gruner Stucky reflect on this latest milestone, they highlight the collective effort behind it: “This is more than just a milestone — it’s a testament to collaboration, resilience, and innovation in dam safety and infrastructure sustainability.”
