The Egyptian Minister of Housing Dr. Assem El-Gazzar, held a meeting to follow up the executive status Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant and Dam which is being implemented by the JV of the Arab Contractors and Elsewedy Electric on Rufiji River in Tanzania. This was in the presence of Eng. Khaled Abbas - Deputy Minister of Housing for National Projects, Major Gen. Mahmoud Nassar – Head of the Central Agency for Reconstruction, Eng. Sayed Farouk- CEO & President of the Arab Contractors Company, Eng. Ahmed Elsewedy – CEO & President of Elsewedy Electric and Eng. Wael Hamdy – Senior Vice Chairman of Elsewedy Electric within the framework of periodic follow-up to the progress of the project.
The Minister of Housing explained that during the meeting, the executive status of the project was reviewed, and the work progress was reassured according to the required rates, stressing that there is interest and follow-up from the political leadership, in this important national project for our brothers in Tanzania, and that this project embodies the potentials and capabilities of the Egyptian contracting companies in implementing all development projects for our brothers in the African continent.
Dr. Assem El-Gazzar stressed that there is a continuous follow-up from President Abdel Fattah El Sisi - President of the Republic of Egypt, to the executive status of the project, and instructed that the Egyptian JV has to exert their best efforts to achieve the dream of the Tanzanian brothers in implementing this project years ago, and he visited the project site more than once to ensure that the workflow is of the highest quality.
Major Gen. Mahmoud Nassar – Head of the Central Agency for Reconstruction and Head of the Project Follow-Up Committee said that the project aims at controlling the flood, generating power and protecting the environment. The project is about a main dam with total length 1025m at crest level and 134m height with a capacity to impound approximately 34 billion m3 of water. Besides, the construction of a hydropower plant with a capacity of 2115mw. The plant is located on Rufiji River in Selous Game Reserve at Morogoro area, South West of Dar es Salam (largest city and commercial capital of Tanzania). It will be the biggest plant in Tanzania with a capacity of 6307 MW/hour yearly; the generated power will be transferred by 400kv transmission lines to a substation of 400kv where the generated power will be merged with the public power grid.
He explained that the project includes the construction of 4 saddle dams for reservoir impounding of water. Besides, the main spillway is located on the center of the main dam, an emergency spillway and a tunnel with a length of 703m to divert the water of the river. In addition, the construction of 3 tunnels to transfer the water to the power plant, a permanent concrete bridge, and 2 temporary bridges on Rufiji. The civil works includes the construction of temporary and permanent access roads to ease movement and linking the project components.
It is noteworthy that the Egyptian JV (the Arab Contractors Company and Elsewedy Electric Company signed the contract in December 2018 in Dar es Salam in Tanzania. It was in the presence of the Tanzanian President and Dr. Moustafa Madbouli- Egyptian Prime Minister. The contract value is 2.9 billion dollars. The project objectives are to generate 6307 MW/hour yearly for the consumption of 17 million Tanzanian families. In addition to these, the dam is controlling the flood to protect the environment from the risks of floods and swamps, storing about 34 billion m3 of water in a new lake to ensure permanent water availability throughout the year for agriculture, and preserving the surrounding wildlife in one of the largest forests in Africa and the whole world.