Civil Engineering April 2021 | Vol 29 No 3

Civil Engineering April 2021 17 Geotechn i cal Eng i neer i ng Kashimbila Dam is located on the Katsina-Ala River, a tributary of the Benue River, near Nigeria’s south-eastern border with Cameroon (Figure 2). The dam was initially designed purely for flood protection to guard against the implications of failure of the natural embankment of Lake Nyos, a deep lake impounded by a volcanic dam, high on the flank of an inactive volcano. Kashimbila Dam: aspects of geology, engineering geology and geotechnics Best International Project winner at the 2020 CESA Aon Engineering Excellence Awards, the Kashimbila Dam design evolved from being a single purpose dam to a multipurpose structure, which includes power generation. This article focuses on some aspects of the geology, engineering geology as well as the geotechnics of this project. Gary Davis Technical Director, Engineering Geology Zutari gary.davis@zutari.com Figure 1 Aerial view of the completed Kashimbila Dam, with the mountains of Cameroon in the background Figure 2 Kashimbila Dam, locality map PROJECT TEAM Client Nigerian Federal Ministries of Water Resources and Power (via SCC Nigeria) Consulting engineer Zutari (previously Aurecon South Africa) Main contractor SCC Nigeria