Tokwe Mukorsi Dam

Tokwe Mukorsi Dam
Location of Tokwe Mukorsi Dam in Zimbabwe
Country Zimbabwe
Location Masvingo
Coordinates 20°43′40.05″S 30°54′11.31″E / 20.7277917°S 30.9031417°E / -20.7277917; 30.9031417Coordinates: 20°43′40.05″S 30°54′11.31″E / 20.7277917°S 30.9031417°E / -20.7277917; 30.9031417
Purpose Water storage, flood control, irrigation, fisheries, power
Status Construction suspended
Construction began 1998
Construction cost US$200 million
Dam and spillways
Type of dam Embankment, concrete-face rock-fill
Impounds Tokwe River
Height 90.3 m (296 ft)
Width (crest) 8.5 m (28 ft)
Dam volume 1,915,000 m3 (67,600,000 cu ft)
Reservoir
Total capacity 1,750×10^6 m3 (1,420,000 acre·ft)
Catchment area 7,120 km2 (2,750 sq mi)
Surface area 96.4 km2 (37.2 sq mi)
Max. water depth 82.7 m (271 ft)
Power station
Commission date 2015 est.
Installed capacity 12 MW (16,000 hp)

The Tokwe Mukorsi Dam is an unfinished concrete-face rock-fill dam on the Tokwe River, just downstream of its confluence with the Mukorsi River, about 72 kilometres (45 mi) south of Masvingo in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe.[1] Construction on the dam began in June 1998 but stalled in 2008. Salini Impregilo began to finish the dam in 2011. Heavy flooding in February 2014 caused a partial failure on 4 February, on the downstream face of the dam.[2][3] By late February the dam had not been fully breached but the unplanned rising reservoir behind the dam caused evacuations upstream.[4] Both upstream and downstream, over 20,000 people were evacuated.[5] Construction of the dam was suspended in June 2014 due to a lack of funding.[6][7] The power station was expected to be commissioned by the end of 2015.[8] It is 90.3 metres (296 ft) tall and creates a 1,750,000,000 m3 (1,420,000 acre·ft) reservoir, the largest the in country. The associated hydroelectric power station will have a 12 megawatts (16,000 hp) installed capacity.[9]

References

  1. "Update:Flood water over Tokwe Mukorsi Dam" (PDF). ReliefWeb. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  2. "Water gushes over crumbling dam wall in Zimbabwe". Digital Journal. 9 February 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  3. "Tokwe - Mukorsi Dam". Salini Impregilo. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  4. "Update: Tokwe Mukorsi dam in Zimbabwe". Digital Journal. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  5. "In photos: The aftermath of Zimbabwe’s Tokwe-Mukorsi dam disaster". Daily Maverick. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  6. "Tokwe-Mukorsi construction suspended". News Day. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  7. "Tokwe Mukosi dam complete". The Zimbabwean. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  8. "Zimbabwe: IDBZ to Issue U.S$65 Million Bonds for Power Projects". All Africa. The Herald. 18 November 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  9. "Cheap design linked to problems at Tokwe-Mukosi". Nehanda Radio. 15 February 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
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