The Council of Ministers (COM) of the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) met yesterday for their 32nd session in Victoria Falls town in Zimbabwe at Elephant Hills Resort.
The aim of the meeting was to advance the policy direction of the ZRA and the utilization of the Zambezi River.
The meeting resolved that traffic at Kariba Dam should be regulated to ensure that the axle loading of the vehicles do not exceed the required weight limits to ensure safety of the Dam wall.
This is contained according to a communiqué signed by ZRA COM chairperson who is Zambia’s Minister of Mines, Energy and Water Development Christopher Yaluma obtained by ZANIS IN Victoria Falls, today.
Zimbabwe’s Minister of Energy and Power Development Dr. Samuel Undenge was among the signatory of the communique.
It was also reaffirmed that development of the Batoka Hydro Electric Scheme for the enhancement of power generation capacity in the two States would go ahead.
The meeting resolved to recognize the role that the Zambezi Valley Development Fund continues to play in improving the livelihoods of the displaced communities around the dam as evidenced by the nineteen projects completed by the fund since 1997 .
The meeting consequently approved budget of US$ 1 million allocated to ZRA project activities for 2015.
Earlier during a press briefing shortly after a closed door meeting, ZRA Council of Ministers Chairperson Yaluma said Zambia and Zimbabwe shall remain committed to their bilateral co-operation in the development of ZRA projects between the two countries.
Mr. Yaluma said ZRA projects such as the rehabilitation of the Kariba Dam should become a reality adding that as it is now, the dam is a disaster to the entire southern region.
He said though the US$ 294.2 million meant for the Kariba dam rehabilitation project is on paper, the project is expected to commence in September this year while the Batoka Hydro Electric Scheme project is earmarked for commencement in January 2016 to 2021.
And the out-going ZRA COM Chairperson who is Zimbabwe’s Minister of Energy and Power Development Dr. Samuel Undenge said ZRA has entered an exciting period focusing on the Batoka Hydro Electric Scheme whose feasibility studies are on-going and are scheduled to be completed in July this year.
Dr. Undenge did not disclose the approximate amount expected to go towards the Batoka Hydro Electric Scheme but just said only US$ 6 million from World Bank was released for the feasibility study.
ZRA is mandated to harness and manage the Zambezi River waters for socio-economic development and to maintain the Kariba dam complex including any future dams or infrastructure on the river forming a common border between the two countries.
“The meeting resolved that traffic at Kariba Dam should be regulated to ensure that the axle loading of the vehicles do not exceed the required weight limit to ensure safety of the Dam wall”.
Above statement leaves one scratching the head. Its either ba LT have misquoted what was actually resolved, OR there were no Technical people present at this meeting to correct the glaring mistake in above statement. Any Engineer worth his salt in Civil / Structural / Mechanical fields knows that it is NOT the axle load of the vehicle ALONE that they should regulate in the case of a weak bridge, but the TOTAL WEIGHT of each truck. For example, it is very easy to for a huge low loader truck carrying 100+ Tonne piece of equipment for the Mining Industry to stay compliant to required axle….
Cont’d ….. axle load if it has many enough axles (multi-axle) to spread the load over a larger road area.
But the total weight will still be 100+ Tonnes, and most likely too much live load on a weak structure like the dam wall. So, the question is, what exactly did these guys resolve??.
CACTUS whatever u call urself it seems u have some ideas of civil engineering but scanty. The resolutions for the meeting are 100% OK AXLE LOADS are the ones we consider in checking the structural integrity of a bridge (stresses and strain) the dead weight is spread on axles and it the axle load that a stuctural element is supposed to resist not the dead load. Kindly keep ur scanty ideas in your trousers between ur two legs
@1 and 2 u are both correct ;though @1 has an advance engineering understanding.eg will an empty machinery of 300000 Lb be allowed to pass ?from @1 point view its NO but frm @2 its Yes becoz its empty.so Lt or ministers didnt kno what they mean.
@Cactus..
These guys resolved to pay themselves lots of money and have more talking shops like this one.
“The meeting consequently approved budget of US$ 1 million allocated to ZRA project activities for 2015.” i.e. next years Birthday Party for Robert Mugabe.
For public consumption they had to have something technical to announce to the press, even if they did not understand that they were talking rubbish.
“Dr. Undenge did not disclose the approximate amount expected to go towards the Batoka Hydro Electric Scheme but just said only US$ 6 million from World Bank was released for the feasibility study.”
Someone should tell him there is already a feasibility study that was done in 1972!!
You are absolutely right. ..
These guys are arguing about axle weights, but can anyone reason with F00LS that are busy trying to reinvent the wheel!
When and if it is finally done, the costs of all the meetings, conferences, travel, hotel bills, feasibility studies etc. will be more than the actual cost of building Batoka George!
Zimbabwe should pay it’s fair share of the costs for Kariba, Batoka and any future projects. These Zimbos are so greedy. These are the same people who wouldn’t let Zambians to buy more than three loaves of bread from Zim in the 1990s when their economy was ticking. Let us not repeat the Rhodesian Federation rip-off when Zambian copper was used to build Salisbury.
@2. ANYOKO,
LOL.. Never pretend to be an accomplished Engineer when you are clearly NOT, because unlike politics, engineering is an exact science and it easily shows. Your profanity speaks volumes about you, and your lack of capacity. How old are you?
This is a no brainer, but let me simplify it for you further, The concrete dam wall is showing cracks due to lateral forces of water etc… hence need to further regulate the cyclic vertical live loads induced into the wall by passing traffic. So far so good?
Okay, now here is where you fall apart, so pay attention and learn something. If, for example ….
Cont’d…example, the maximum allowable Axle weight is as low as 2 Tonnes, you would need a carrier with 34 Axles to carry a gross vehicle weight of 100 Tonnes. If the Axles are designed 1.5 metres apart, your carrier would be 75 metres in length. Kariba Dam wall is half a kilometre long from land to land. So, at any given time as you drive on the fragile Dam wall, the massive 100 Tonne live load is only concentrated on a short strip of 75 metres. So, even if you comply to 2 Tonne/Axle regulation, the 100 Tonne can be excessive on a short strip of 75 metres as it would induce vertical cyclic loads which would dislodge the fragile wall. (which strip reduces to 50 metres if the Axle limit is increased to 3 Tonnes).
Now, which part of this simple explanation don’t you understand?
“Correction”
would need 50 Axles to carry 100 Tonnes @2 Tonne per axle.
or 34 Axles to carry 100 Tonnes @3 Tonnes per Axle.
Your justification makes me increase your mark from 4/10 to 6/10. I a civil technician graduated from Lusaka trades and currently working for Luwingu district council. My understanding to this problem is that AXLE load whatever arrangement of axles is the core wordnot dead weight. The dam is not cracking due to what u call water lateral forces better the term hydrostatic forces, mind u initial designers tookcare of worst water levels for the dam so i dont think the physical properties of water have changed. The problem is siltation , hydrostatic forces plus overburden arising from siltation have changed the position for the resultant force actionline as well as maximum force the dam can restrain. Have u heard about shells and their design principles? KARIBA dam is an example of such!!