...The project poses serious social, environmental, and human rights risks:

• Over 1,400 families — at least 8,120 people — face forced displacement.
• Communities that rely on fishing, farming and livestock are threatened by flooding and disrupted river flows.
• Cultural and spiritual heritage sites, including sacred lands and sites where ancestral ceremonies take place, risk submersion or irreversible damage.
• Communities downstream face the loss of floodplain agriculture that is essential to food security due to changes in the river’s natural cycle, echoing past negative experiences with the Cahora Bassa dam. There is an estimated population of about 350,000 people living in the Zambezi Delta area, which could be indirectly affected by the environmental and socio-economic consequences of the dam.
• Communities have described a repressive climate, with reports of pressure, detentions, threats and limitations on freedom of expression.

Field work conducted by Justiça Ambiental (JA!) throughout the past 25 years, and by CCFD-Terre Solidaire in April 2025, based on testimonies from over 245 people, reveal deep mistrust in the project. Promises of jobs and development are met with scepticism, as past projects failed to benefit locals. In fact, land initially designated for the MNK dam resettlement has already been used for relocating communities affected by Jindal’s coal mine. Despite the absence of proper community consultation and suitable resettlement plans, the project has gained strong international backing. It is supported by the World Bank, African Development Bank, European Union and European Investment Bank. However a rapid quantitative risk assessment by TMP Public 1 estimated a potential financial loss of USD 1.3 billion 2 due to social and environmental risks, including displacement-related conflicts...