The Tokwe Mukorsi Dam is a 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] It is 90.3 metres (296 ft) tall and creates a 1,750,000,000 m³ (1,420,000 acre⋅ft) reservoir, the largest inland dam in the country. The associated hydroelectric power station has a 12 megawatts (16,000 hp) installed capacity.[2]

Tokwe Mukosi Dam
Location of Tokwe Mukosi Dam in Zimbabwe
Country	Zimbabwe
Location	Masvingo Province close to Ngundu
Coordinates	21°03′46.25″S 30°23′39.99″E
Purpose	Water storage, flood control, irrigation, fisheries, power
Status	Operational
Construction began	1998
Opening date	2016
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)
Maximum water depth	82.7 m (271 ft)
Commission date	May 2017
Installed capacity	12 MW (16,000 hp)

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.[3][4] By late February the dam had not been fully breached but the unplanned rising reservoir behind the dam caused evacuations upstream.[5] Both upstream and downstream, over 20,000 people were evacuated.[6] Construction of the dam was suspended in June 2014 due to a lack of funding.[7][8] In May 2016 the government released $35 million to Salini Impregilio to enable the Italian contractor resume construction work that stopped two years ago owing to payment problems.[9] The Dam was eventually completed in December 2016 and commissioned in May 2017.[10]

Gallery

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  Water has not settled as yet.
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  Looking east you can get the best view of the dam.

References