Cahora Bassa gets much-needed renovation

Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), the company that operates the dam in the central Mozambican province of Tete, has recently completed the renovation of the first floodgate, from a group eight, in the dam, reports news agency, Aim News. This is part of a comprehensive investment program to modernize that important infrastructure for power generation, said the daily paper Noticias. According to the head of Engineering Services and Maintenance at HCB, Moises Machava Machava, the management of HCB also plans to renovate another two floodgates before the end of 2011. Currently, the floodgates at HCB dam are operating with obsolete equipment installed over 30-years ago, which pose a threat to the security of the dam. As a consequence, the floodgates are facing serious problems of leakage and corrosion, with some operating and monitoring equipment completely worn out and obsolete. The renovation project of the equipment, which is also used to manage the lake and discharges of water downstream of the Zambezi River, started in August 2010 and budgeted at 15-million euros. Once completed in 2013, it is expected that the eight floodgates will be fully operational for another 30 odd years.