The attention of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission has been drawn to very dangerous fake news circulating about Kainji Dam. As part of the Power Sector reforms Kainji Hydropower Facilities were concessioned to Mainstream Energy Solutions.
Mainstream’s responsibility include safe custody of the entire dam structure and appurtenances. The ICRC being the statutory agency responsible for pre and post contract regulation of PPPs and concessions has continued regular technical and other compliance monitoring of the Kainji Concession.
The ICRC wants to confirm that the integrity of Kainji Dam is intact and the facility is operating flawlessly and injecting lowest cost power to the national grid.
During our last compliance monitoring visit before the Covid19 era all aspects of the Dam were inspected by us and where appropriate function tested. 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.
Its important to inform Nigerians what an embankment collapse means and its implications. Kainji Dam impound over 16 billion litres of water. Embankment collapse means the dam structure is breached leading to loss of containment of the impounded water.
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 wishe his or her country this.
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.
Engr. Chidi Izuwah Snr
DG/CEO
The Presidency
Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission
