El Gazzar discusses with the Tanzanian side ways of joint cooperation between the two countries and opening new business horizons for the Egyptian companies in many fields in Tanzania.
At the beginning of his visit to Tanzania, Dr. Assem El Gazzar - Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities, met with Dr. Doto Mashaka Biteko - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy, to follow up on the work progress of 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.
The meeting was attended by the Egyptian Ambassador to Tanzania, H.E. Sherif Ismail; Major Gen. Mahmoud Nassar – Head of the Central Agency for Reconstruction and Head of the Project Follow-up Committee; Eng. Ahmed El Assar – CEO and Chairman of the Arab Contractors Company; Eng. Ahmed El Sewedy – President and Chairman of Elsewedy Electric; and Eng. Hossam El Din El Rify – Senior Vice Chairman of the Arab Contractors Company; Eng. Wael Hamdy – Senior Vice Chairman of Elsewedy Electric; and Eng. Ayman Attia –Board Member of the Arab Contractors Company.
During his meeting with the Tanzanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy, the Minister of Housing reviewed ways of joint cooperation between the two countries and opening new business horizons for Egyptian companies in many fields in Tanzania, stressing that this project is being followed up on a regular basis by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi - President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, 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. The project is also of interest to the political leadership in both countries, in light of the solid and strong relations between the two brotherly countries.
The Minister of Housing pointed out that the project consists of a main dam with a total length of 1025 m, which is complete, and a capacity to impound approximately 34 billion m3 of water. Besides, the construction of a hydropower plant with a capacity of 2115 MW. The plant is located on Rufiji River in Selous Game Reserve at Morogoro, south-west of Dar es Salam (the largest city and commercial capital of Tanzania), where 15 billion m3 of water were stored in the dam lake. The water reached a level of 165 degrees above sea level, as the minimum operating level for turbines is 163 degrees above sea level.
and the main gates of the dam have been tested. The JV officials declared that the concrete works for the main dam amount to 1.4 million m3 of compacted concrete. The main gates of the dam have been installed, and the finishing and testing work is underway. Work on the main 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 to implement a dam and a hydropower plant with a capacity of 2115 MW. 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.