"El Gazzar" conveys the greetings and appreciation of President El Sisi to the project workers.. and confirms the ability and capabilities of Egyptian companies to implement major projects, especially for our brothers in Africa.
Dr. Assem El Gazzar - Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, inspected the work progress of Julius Nyerere Dam and Hydropower Plant, which is being implemented by the Egyptian JV of the "Arab Contractors and Elsewedy Electric" companies, on Rufiji River, Tanzania, accompanied by the Egyptian Ambassador to Tanzania, Mr. Sherif Abdel Hamid Ismail, Major General Mohamed Essam - Assistant Minister of Housing and Supervisor of the Minister’s Office, Major General Mahmoud Nassar - Head of the Central Agency for Reconstruction, Eng. Ahmed El Assar – CEO and Chairman of the Arab Contractors Company, and Eng. Ahmed El Sewedy - President and CEO, Elsewedy Electric.
Dr. Assem El Gazzar and his companions toured the various components of the project, and listened to a detailed explanation about the work progress, as the completion of the project reached advanced levels. Since the start of the first filling in December 2022, 10 billion m3 of water out of a total of 33 billion m3 is intended to be stored in the lake. The project aims to generate hydropower with a capacity of 2115 megawatts, the provision of electricity needs in Tanzania, and control water drain throughout the year, including floods; thus, water requirements are met.
The Minister of Housing confirmed that the Egyptian state pays great attention to the implementation of this huge project, which embodies the distinguished relations between Egypt and Tanzania, and the project is followed up periodically by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, given the expected role of the dam and the plant in providing the necessary electric power for Tanzania, controlling the flooding of Rufiji River, and preserving the environment. He explained that this project confirms the ability and capabilities of Egyptian companies to implement major projects, especially for our brothers in Africa.
The Minister of Housing held multiple discussions with the Egyptian engineers, technicians, and administrators working on the project, during which he conveyed the greetings and appreciation of President El Sisi for their work and effort, as well as his constant reassurance about the health and safety of all workers in this important project for the brothers in Tanzania. He declared that they represent their country and serve as a model that expresses the progress achieved by the building and construction sector in Egypt at the present stage.
Officials of the Egyptian JV of the "Arab Contractors" and "Elsewedy Electric" companies, which is implementing Julius Nyerere Dam and Hydropower Plant, indicated that the number of workers in the project reached its peak, 12.3 thousand workers, of whom 90% were local workers, and the number of heavy equipment used in the project reached 1850. The total quantities of excavations is about 14 million m3, the total quantities of backfilling of debris are about 7.5 million m3, 3 million m3 of concrete, and 90 thousand tons of reinforcing steel.
They declared that the project consists of a main concrete dam to store water needed to generate hydropower from power plant, and concrete works for the main dam with a total length of 1036 meters at the crest, and a height of about 130 meters, and the construction of 4 saddle dams to store water with lengths (1.4 km - 7.9 km - 4.6 km - 2.6 km), and its maximum heights are as follows (21.3 m - 14 m - 12.4 m - 5.5 m), and the total expected water reserves is 33 billion m3, in addition to the construction of a hydropower plant with a capacity of 2115 megawatts, and an electricity substation 400 kV, in addition to the 400 kV power transmission lines to the nearest point in the general electricity network.
It is noteworthy that the Egyptian JV (the Arab Contractors Company and Elsewedy Electric Company) signed the contract in December 2018 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It was in the presence of the former Tanzanian President and Dr. Moustafa Madbouli, the Egyptian Prime Minister. The contract value is $2.9 billion. The project objectives are to generate 6307 MW/hour annually 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.
The visit was attended by Eng. Wael Hamdy, Senior Vice President of El Sewedy Electric, Eng. Ayman Attia – Board Member of the Arab Contractors Company, Eng. Mohamed Samaha and Eng. Rafi Youssef - Managing Directors of the JV, Eng. Darem Debsi - Representative of the JV, Eng. Osama Shawkat - Project Manager for Civil Works, and Eng. Mohamed Zaki - Project Manager for Electromechanical Works.