The Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) has taken measures to mitigate the risks associated with the Covid-19 pandemic on its major worksite of the Kariba Dam Rehabilitation Project.

ZRA Executive Director Munyaradzi Munodawafa said the Authority is fully aware of the health risks associated with large projects like the Kariba Dam Rehabilitation Project (KDRP) which requires input from bi-national and international experts.

Engineer Munodawafa said a Covid-19 emergency response team has since been set up to mitigate the respective impacts on both well-being and project schedule.

He said the project which started in 2017 has been classified as essential seeing it is highly critical to the Governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe as Contracting States and the SADC region.

“This six-year project which started in 2017 has been classifies as essential.” He said.

Engineer Munodawafa said work has thus, continued at the project site with strict adherence to health guidelines from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Contracting States.

He disclosed that there was substantial human traffic around the KDPR site by local and international workers, contractors and service providers noting that some of the expatriate staff who had traveled to their home countries on leave have been affected by the international travel ban.

“This has temporarily left some gaps in the smooth schedule of the operations, thus requiring very close supervision of potentially affected works,” he said.

The Engineer said the Authority has observed strict international and national travelling and movements to minimize potential infection and spreading of Covid-19 at the project site.

The Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) has awarded the tender for the rehabilitation of the Kariba Dam spillway, to a consortium comprising GE Hydro France and Freyssinet International.

The spillway is a major component of the Kariba Dam Rehabilitation Project (KDRP) and the contract is valued at $53,684,000.00.

The loan and grant financing committed to the KDRP project by the World Bank and the African Development Bank are primarily funding the spillway rehabilitation works and the supervision costs of both the spillway refurbishment and plunge pool reshaping works contracts.