The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) has assured that the integrity of Kainji Dam remained intact following reports of an alleged embankment breach.
The Director-General/Chief Executive, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Mr Chidi Izuwah, who disclosed this added that the facility is “operating flawlessly and injecting lowest-cost power to the national grid”.
The ICRC boss described recent reports about a possible dam collapse as “fake news” adding that “Kainji Dam has one of the most sophisticated real-time inflow prediction and reservoir basin management systems.”
In a statement, he said, “We inform the public that Kainji is safe and advice them to ignore the fake news. We advice all Nigerians to please kindly check status of our PPP and concession projects on the ICRC disclosure portal or directly with the Commission.”
Izuwah said during the commission’s last compliance monitoring visit to the dam before the emergence of COVID-19, all aspects of the dam were inspected and appropriate function tested.
He said: “We thoroughly inspected the Dam Crest, Reservoir, Embankment Rip Rap, Dam Toe, Toe Drain, Piezometers, Spillway, Stilling Basin, Power House etc.
“Furthermore, Kainji has one of the most sophisticated real-time inflow prediction and reservoir basin management systems. This computer-based system with feeder monitors on the upstream and downstream stretches is designed to ensure world-class hydraulics flow management for dam, upstream and downstream safety management.
“It’s important to inform Nigerians what an embankment collapse means and its implications. Kainji dam impounds over 16 billion litres of water. Embankment collapse means the dam structure is breached, leading to loss of containment of the impounded water.”
According to him: “Embankment collapse will result in what is called a dam break wave. Most empirical hydraulic models will show that everything probably some decent distance on both banks of the Niger from Kainji dam location to the sea will be washed away.
“This will probably be the biggest disaster to hit Nigeria since the turn of the century – destructive power of water. A dam break wave is very similar to a Tsunami wave but is not of seismic origin. We are not sure any person would wish his or her country this.”
He, however, noted that as part of the federal government’s power sector reforms initiatives, Kainji Hydropower Facilities were concessioned to Mainstream Energy Solutions.
He said Mainstream’s responsibility included safe custody of the entire dam structure and appurtenances adding that ICRC being the statutory agency responsible for pre and post contract regulation of PPPs and concessions had continued regular technical and other compliance monitoring of the Kainji concession.
