Introduction
Tour Itinerary
Destinations
Kariba Dam
Building Dam
Costs of Dam
Benefits of Dam
History of Aid
Railway Project
Chingola
Ngome shanty
Issues
Theories
Worksheets
Resources

Home Field Trips Foreign Aid Tour The Kariba Dam

The Kariba Dam

Investing in Infrastructure: The Kariba Dam Project

Next issue - External Costs of Building Kariba Dam >>

During the 1950s prior to Independence the colonial government saw that if the economy was to develop some major structural changes were necessary. At the time, the prevailing view of economic development was that it occurred in stages and if the economy was going to take off and achieve industrialisation then it needed the energy to modernise the economy.

The Kariba Dam

The existing coal fired thermal power stations using high quality coal from Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) provided much of the energy for the production of copper and other mineral extraction, and urban development in both Zimbabwe and Zambia. However it was recognised that coal fired power stations could not produce sufficient energy to satisfy the growing demand. Utilising hydroelectric power involving the damming of some of its natural river valleys had been considered for many years. High commodity prices, copper in Zambia and tobacco in Zimbabwe, stimulated the decision to go ahead and build a dam. Damming the Zambezi River was the inevitable choice.

The River Zambezi is the fourth largest river in Africa. It originates in NorthWest Zambia and flows through Angola, Zambia and Botswana, forming the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe before crossing Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. Over 70% of Zambia's population, 76% of Zimbabwe's, 90% of Malawi's and 25% of Mozambique's live within the Zambezi's basin; in total over 38 million people. Along its length there were a number of locations where a dam could be built however the impact on the people living in the Zambezi's valley was always going to be considerable.

After much debate about the relative merits of building a dam at Kariba and Kafue in 1955 the governments of Federation of Nyasaland and Rhodesia (now known as Zimbabwe) and Zambia eventually decided to go ahead with a joint hydro electric project at Kariba. The World Bank as one of the main funding agencies, made an appraisal of its finances. However, many development economists now argue that the investment appraisal failed to take into account the full social costs of the project.

The Kariba Dam

The dam was completed in 1960 and hydro-electric production was introduced in two phases, the first on the south bank in 1960 and then a second on the north bank in 1976. Since building it has usually provided a source of cheap, plentiful and clean electricity except during droughts at full capacity. Electricity produced by coal fired generation was three times as costly.

The building of the dam involved the flooding of thousands of hectares of land and the creation of Lake Kariba. The lake itself is about 300 km long and has a catchment area of several million square kilometres. Many thousands of people had to be resettled. During the flooding of the valley a famous international rescue operation called Operation Noah was launched to save many of the animals that were trapped amidst the rising water levels.

Next issue - External Costs of Building Kariba Dam >>

Related Theories:
Rostows models of growth