The Itezhi-Tezhi Dam on the Kafue River in west-central Zambia was built between 1974 and 1977 at the Itezhi-Tezhi Gap, in a range of hills through which the river had eroded a narrow valley, leading to the broad expanse of the wetlands known as the Kafue Flats. The town of Itezhi-Tezhi is to the east side of the dam. Dimensions and purpose The dam has a height of , a crest length of and forms a reservoir of , flooding a section of the Kafue National Park. The initial purpose of the dam is to store water for the Kafue Gorge Upper Power Station more than downstream. The Kafue River, like most in south-central Africa, has a very high seasonal variation, flooding in the rainy season and slowing to perhaps a twentieth of the peak flow rate at the end of the dry season. Power generation however requires a steady flow, which can only be achieved by having a reservoir large enough to store the seasonal flood for use in the dry season. At the Kafue Gorge the topography does not allow a large enough reservoir to form. The designers of the dam therefore had the idea of siting the main reservoir at Itezhi-Tezhi, and releasing the water in a steady flow down the river along the Kafue Flats to the Kafue Gorge Dam. Power station Construction began in 2011 of a power station at the Itezhi-Tezhi Dam and was due for completion in 2015. The $250 million plant will be operated by Itezhi Tezhi Power Company (ITPC), a joint venture between ZESCO, the Zambian state-owned power company, and TATA Africa, a part of Indian conglomerate Tata Group. The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor is Sinohydro and two 60MW Kaplan turbines are being supplied by Alstom. In 2014, The African Development Bank (AfDB), the Dutch Development Bank FMO, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and Propaco of France provided the Zambian Government with a loan of $142 million to fund approximately half of the project cost. The power station was fully commissioned in February 2016. Environmental impact of the dam on the Kafue River Flats The Kafue Flats ecosystem is adapted to regular extremes of flooding and drying out. The floods charge the soil with water. Fish and animals adapt to swim or wade, help spread nutrients, and when the waters recede, grasses grow rapidly and sustain herbivores