Kariba Dam - Construction 1950's
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.
Construction
The double curvature concrete arch dam was designed by Coyne et Bellier
and constructed between 1955 and 1959 by Impresit of Italy at a cost of
$135,000,000 for the first stage with only the Kariba South power
cavern. Final construction and the addition of the Kariba North Power
cavern by Mitchell Construction was not completed until 1977 due to
largely political problems for a total cost of $480,000,000. During
construction, 86 men lost their lives.
