Project Impacts

VRA is revising the Environmental and Social Impact Study (ESIA) study, to take account of the reduction in dam elevation from 170m to 165m to identify the precise nature of project impacts, including the number of households or people the project will affect. VRA is also preparing Resettlement Action Plan in accordance with established international standards to ensure that it adequately compensates or resettles all persons adversely affected by the project. Resettlement will also take due cognizance of any cultural or social issues.

VRA has started extensive stakeholder consultation to ensure that it takes account of concerns of the affected persons in the design of the project. The objective is to ensure that all affected persons end up better off than they were before the project. The stakeholder consultations will be intensified in the second half of 2019 and will target government agencies at the regional and district level as well as traditional authorities in the affected areas.