The Minister of Housing Dr. Assem El-Gazzar, inspected 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. He was accompanied by the Egyptian Ambassador to Tanzania, Mr. Sherif Abdel Hamid Ismail; Major Gen. Mahmoud Nassar – Head of the Central Agency for Reconstruction, Eng. Ahmed El Assar – CEO and Chairman of the Arab Contractors Company, Eng. Wael Hamdy – Senior Vice Chairman of Elsewedy Electric, Eng. Ayman Attia –Board Member of the Arab Contractors Company, Eng. Mohamed Samaha – JV Manager and Eng. Mohamed Zaki - Project Director for Electromechanical Works.
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. He stated that the project is monitored periodically by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. This visit comes within the framework of the continuous field follow-up of the progress of work on Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant and Dam, and conveyed a message to Tanzanian officials confirming the interest of the Egyptian state in this project to achieve development for our brothers in Tanzania and providing the necessary electric power for Tanzania, controlling the flooding of Rufiji River, and preserving the environment.
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.
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. The main gates of the dam have been installed, and the finishing and testing work is underway. Work on the main intakes of the water-connecting channels to the turbine building is progressing according to schedule. Besides, the incision of the main channels inside the mountain is accomplished with lengths exceeding 1500 m, and the concrete lining work for the 3 main channels is completed, as is the installation of the gates for the intakes.
The work is underway in the main structure of the turbines building, which is one of the most important units of the project, where the civil works of the turbine assembly building (Erection Bay) have been completed, and 3 giant cranes have been installed, with a load of 400 tons per winch, in preparation for receiving the main units of the turbines, in conjunction with the installation of 9 turbines. 27 transformers, towers and interconnection lines between the turbine building station and the Interconnection station were installed. The first phase of concrete work has also been completed, and the interior and exterior finishing of the building are complete.
The main bridge linking the two banks of Rufiji River has been completed, which is one of the main components of Julius Nyerere Dam project due to its importance for transporting parts for turbines of large sizes and weights. Therefore, this bridge is the largest bridge in Tanzania in terms of tonnage, as it allows With loads of up to 300 tons and a length of 250 meters, it is built on only two columns, with a height of more than 50 meters above the surface of the river, which makes this bridge one of the most important construction landmarks in the country, especially since it will be one of the main parts of the international road linking Tanzania and Mozambique.