3. Kariba Dam, Zambia/Zimbabwe
Photo credit: newsday zimbabwe
The Kariba Dam is a double curvature concrete arch dam in the Kariba Gorge of the Zambezi River Basin between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Constructed between 1955 and 1959, the total cost of the dam was $480 million by Italian construction firm Impresit.
The Kariba Dam generates 6,400 gigawatt hours per annum and supplies 1,626 megawatts of electricity to parts of both Zambia and Zimbabwe. Each country has its own power station on the north and south bank of the dam.
At 128 meters high and 579 meters long, its reservoir has a water holding capacity of 185 cubic kilometers. The dam forms Lake Kariba, which extends outward for another 280 kilometres.
