Massingir Dam is a dam located on the Rio dos Elefantes, in Gaza Province, Mozambique. It bears the name of the nearby town of Massingir in the Massingir District.
The Shingwedzi River flows close to the northeast part of the reservoir and joins the Rio dos Elefantes roughly 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) downstream from the dam wall.
The project history
By 1975, before the dam’s completion, Mozambique achieved independence and construction was brought to a halt. The FRELIMO government picked up the project again shortly after, but by the early 1980s, the war and declining economic conditions had put a stop to further development.
The Massingir dam was not built to its full potential for the irrigation schemes of the Limpopo Valley downstream at Chokwe due to a lack of investment in the completion or maintenance of dam infrastructure. During the post-conflict reconstruction phase that followed the civil war’s end in 1994, a rehabilitation program worth US$61 million was launched and finished in 2007.
Six large spillway crest gates were installed to raise the dam’s full supply level. As a result of the project, the dam had the second-largest reservoir in the nation, with a storage capacity of 2.8 billion cubic meters (2,300,000 acre-ft) of water. As part of the project, a new spillway and a 25-megawatt (34,000 hp) hydroelectric power plant were also built.
However, in May 2008, an unexpected failure of the outlet conduits led to an uncontrolled discharge of about 1,000 cubic meters per second into the downstream area, endangering the safety of the Massingir dam. Another rehabilitation effort was consequently started and finished in 2015.
Reported on 3rd October 2014
Massingir dam in Mozambique to be rehabilitated to improve safety
The National Directorate of Water (DNA) through the Regional Administration of Water South (ARA-Sul) has awarded a contract for the rehabilitation of the damaged bottom outlets and related works on the 48-meter-high Massingir dam in the Gaza Province of Mozambique. Aurecon has been appointed to supervise the construction of these rehabilitation works.
Following the raising of the full supply level of the dam by the installation of six large spillway crest gates, a sudden failure of the outlet conduits in May 2008 resulted in an uncontrolled discharge of approximately 1 000 cubic meters per second to the downstream area, threatening the safety of the Massingir dam.
Read Also: The Clanwilliam Dam project in Western Cape South Africa.
Funded by the African Development Bank, the project will enhance the safety of the dam and render it fully operational again, increasing its capacity to supply downstream irrigation demands and thus enhancing the local economy.
Aurecon was previously appointed to investigate the cause of the failure of the bottom outlet works, design the rehabilitation of the bottom outlet works, compile tender documentation, and provide technical services for the client.
“In designing the rehabilitation works we drew on our previous experience in delivering cost-efficient and constructible major dam infrastructure projects in Africa for many clients,” Aurecon’s Dams Leader Peter Blersch said.
“Our local engineers, who have experience working with ARA-Sul and who are familiar with the local environment, will be supervising the construction and they will be supported by specialists in South Africa,” Peter said.
The rehabilitation works comprise the installation of 6.4-meter diameter steel liners into the existing reinforced concrete outlet conduits, installation of hydro-power offtakes, mass and heavily reinforced infill concreting and grouting, and rehabilitation of the two downstream radial control gates, including entirely new hydraulic and electrical equipment.
Other work on the rehabilitation of the Massingir dam includes the construction of large diameter pressure relief wells, installation of supplementary dam safety instrumentation, and crest lighting on the 4.5-kilometer long earth fill embankment.
The supervision contract also includes a new water supply and distribution system for the town of Massingir involving 24 kilometers of various diameter pipelines, construction of a 150-seat conference center, new roads, repair of existing roads, rehabilitation of existing buildings, and other building works.
