The Kafue Gorge Upper Power Station required a steady supply of water, something the seasonal Kafue River couldn’t provide. In 1974 the erection of a dam wall in the Itezhi-tezhi gap began; the reservoir created would hold sufficient water to supply the Upper Kafue Gorge Power Station through the dry season. The dam wall (62 m high and 1 800 m long) was completed in 1977 and the small village that grew up during its construction was called Itezhi-tezhi. The Itezhi-Tezhi Hydro Power Station was completed in 2016 and the town has grown to about 8 000 residents, most of them employed by the Itezhi-Tezhi Power Corporation and the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO).

Originating in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province, the Kafue River flows southwards into Kafue National Park, where it carves a narrow valley through the surrounding hills before the mountains force its path westwards through the Itezhi-tezhi gap and onto the Kafue Flats; here, it narrows and accelerates through the Kafue Gorge before joining the Zambezi River north of Chirundu.

The Itezhi-Tezhi Dam has had a significant impact on Kafue Flats ecological system. The dam limits seasonal flooding and the water doesn’t drop as low in the dry season as it did before the dam. Although the intentions were to open the sluices every March to mimic seasonal flooding, low rainfall has prevented this - with a resultant increase in woody species reducing grasslands and available grazing. This has lead to a decline in fish population and game numbers.

EMERGENCY SERVICES:
There is the Itezhi tezhi Hospital. Doctor's Contact is for Dr Mulenga.

NOTE: Visitors to Zambia are advised to have their own personal travel insurance. Local police, hospitals, clinics etc. cannot be relied upon.
Please note that any emergency numbers indicated on our data will be for the local police, hospital, clinic etc. and most of the times, don't work. Many tourism sites show the numbers like 999 for police, they often don’t work.

If you have a medical problem when in Zambia, Specialty Emergency Services has a Call Centre (24 hours). Phone them on 737. This company has offices in Livingstone, Lusaka and Kitwe. But they will fly anywhere to assist if visitors have the right insurance. If you want to check your insurance, contact SES on [email protected]. (http://ses-zambia.com/). (2019).

“Hi Pierre - not according to us - we only have one fuel stop near Itezhi-Tezhi which reads "zesco-fuel-stop-intermittent-get-voucher-at-zesco-office-8h00-to-15h30-mon-fri-8h00-12h00-sat/". You can search w147732. Zambia also does not have 50ppm - their version of low sulphur diesel is 500ppm which you will only find in bigger towns. I will email you a snippet about fuel in Zambia from our latest Zambia self-drive guide book.” - Janine Reyneke, 2021/05/26

“Is 50ppm diesel available in Itezhi-Tezhi?” - Pierre Pitlo, 2021/05/26

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