KGAL Fluid SUMMER 2026 - Other - Page 1
consulting engineers
Keeping you up to date with KGAL Summer 2026
Almost a year since our last issue of Fluid, is time moving faster
or is it just me getting older? (Please don’t answer that).
with circa 24,000 Tonnes of Hydraulic Steel Structures being
manufactured and installed by our parent Company, Whessoe Sdn Bhd.
Some big milestones have been achieved this year; with the
substantial completion of our Kariba Spillway works, for and with
Gruner Stucky, and the completion of design works for the
Luang Prabang HEPP on the Mekong River in Lao PDR,
Whilst it’s nice to speak about the large scale of some projects,
technical challenges come in all shapes and sizes. We’re currently
working on some great projects and resolving unique challenges
around the UK. It’s what we do!!
Dave Griüths | CEO
The Kariba Dam Rehabilitation Project comes to a close
A decade in the making. Now down to the final detail.
Two of the six sections of the emergency gate hang from
the 510 tonne gantry crane. This gate comprises six
sections that are assembled by the gantry crane in any one
of the six spillway sluices. The gate is designed to close in
unbalanced conditions against a flow of up to 1,500m3/s.
The Kariba Dam 510 tonne gantry crane, designed and fabricated
by Morris Material Handling in South Africa.
View towards Zambia - sluices 6, 5 and 4 are visible. Sluice 4
has a section of emergency gate stored, sluice 5 has the stop
beam grappling beam stored, sluice 6 is empty. The 250 tonne
mobile crane, supplied as part of the Spillway Rehabilitation
Project, assisted in the final stages of the works.
Ten years in, and the Kariba Dam Rehabilitation Project has now reached its final stages.
All major installation works are complete, testing has been successfully carried out across the board,
the six spillway sluices have been rewatered, and the 510-tonne gantry crane is now positioned on the
upstream runway track, marking a significant step toward full operational readiness.
A key milestone was achieved in December 2025 with Partial Taking Over of a
substantial portion of the works. This formal handover reflects the scale of
progress made and the confidence in the systems now in place.
In March, we attended the 21st Joint Mission in Siavonga, Zambia, presenting the
current project status to the Zambezi River Authority, the Panel of Experts, and
project financiers. At this stage, scrutiny is high and rightly so every detail matters.
The final stages are in progress and KGAL continues to work closely with both the
Contractor and Employer to close out the project fully. Precise, methodical
delivery right through to the final detail.
