Zambia - Atlas of our Changing Environment

Box 2.2 Kariba Dam Hydro-Power Station

The Kariba Dam was constructed between 1956 and 1960 and created one of the largest artificial lakes in the world, Lake Kariba. The double curvature concrete arch dam wall stands at a height of 128 metres above the Zambezi river bed and spans 617 metres across the Kariba gorge. The lake stretches for 280 kilometres, covering an area of over 5,500 sq kilometres. The dam can hold back 180 cubic kilometres of water. The dam wall is shared by the Kariba North Bank Power Station on the Zambian side and the Kariba South Bank Power Station on the Zimbabwe side. These two powers stations generate a total of 1,320 MW of electricity. The electricity output at Kariba will increase by 600 MW once the expansion on both the South Bank and North Bank is completed.

100 Percentage

Energy and water

Manufacturing

Transport

90

Finance and property Inadequately de ned

Agricultural

Trade

80

Construction

70

Service

60

50

40

Mining and quarryng

30

Siavonga Tourism and Business Development Association, 2012

20

10

0

Figure 2.7 Sectoral power consumption ERB, 2006

Kariba Dam in Siavonga, Southern Province Padegimas, B., 2012

51

Chapter 2 - Zambia’s Changing Environment