The Kariba dam
Sir: My attention has been drawn to an article in The Spectator (Diary, 13 August), alleging that the Kariba dam is in danger of collapse; that it was designed by an Italian architect, who also designed two other dams that have collapsed and has since committed suicide.
It is a matter of deepest concern to us that an article of such incredible inaccuracy should be published in what is normally considered a responsible paper. The truth concerning Kariba is, in fact, as follows: The dam was designed jointly by Coyne & Bellier of France and Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners of the UK. It was built by the Italian firm Impresit, who as contrac- tors, as is normal, had no role in its design. The dam has performed entirely satisfac- torily since its completion and its deflec- tions have been well in line with expected behaviour.
A few hundred metres downstream of the dam on the right abutment there has been a zone of over-burden which has shown signs of creep and this zone has been stabilised. It had no relevance to the safety of the dam, but could have affected the tail race outfall from the underground power station. At the time that the Kariba dam was built, instrumentation was installed to check its subsequent behaviour, but the type available was not as reliable as instru- mentation of a later design. To bring the instrumentation up to date additional equipment is being installed and this work has been going on for some time.
It is astonishing that before The Specta- tor printed its article, it made no attempt to contact either the Zimbabwe or Zambia authorities or ourselves, and must there- fore be considered guilty of gross irrespon- sibility bearing in mind the impact that such misrepresentation of the facts could have on the community downstream of the dam.
G. H. Coates Senior partner,
Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners, Earley House, 427 London Road, Reading, Berkshire
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