Q&A: All you need to know about Julius Nyerere dam Egypt is building in Tanzania

CAIRO – 8 December 2021: The Julius Nyerere hydroelectric Station and Dam projected implemented by the Arab Contractors Alliance and El-Sewedy Electric across the Ruviji River in eastern Tanzania represents the largest national project in the sister country of Tanzania.

In the lines below, et explains the size of the project and its challenges a in Q&A form:

-       How much does the project cost, and why it is important?

The total cost of the project is $2.9 billion, and it consists of a dam and a station that will provide energy, control the floods of Ruviji River and preserve the environment.

-       What does the project include?

It includes the construction of a 1,025-meter long dam at the top, 131 meters high, with 7 water outlets.

The storage capacity of the dam's lake is 34 billion m3. It also includes a hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 2,115 megawatts. The station is located on the side of the Rufiji River in the Selous Jam Reserve. In the "Morgoro" area, southwest of Dar es Salaam (the commercial capital and largest city in Tanzania).

The main components of the project being implemented include (the main dam in the project - a hydroelectric power station and outlet works, 3 tunnels for the passage of the necessary water to the turbine building - an electricity connection station - 4 supplementary dams to form the water tank - a permanent concrete bridge on the Ruviji River - the construction of permanent roads to facilitate Movement and connection of project components - permanent camp for the customer - management of needs and electromechanical components of the project).

-       How much is the size of the workforce in the project, as well as the size of the equipment?

The project employs about 9 thousand workers (8000 local workers - and a thousand Egyptian and foreign workers), and more than 1,400 equipment. The most important works that have been completed include the river diversion tunnel (703 meters long, 12 meters wide, and 17 meters high.) The completion and the diversion of the river was on 10/11/2020.

-       What is the total number of dams included in the project?

The project includes two temporary dams in front and behind the main dam for drying and diversion work during the implementation of the main dam, a water spillway in the middle of the main dam, an emergency spillway, 2 temporary bridges on the Rufiji River, 39 km temporary roads to serve the project area during the implementation period, and special temporary camps.  

-       What are the challenges faced by the Egyptian alliance during the implementation process?

The implementation of the project comes amid many challenges that are being dealt with and overcome in continuous coordination between the project follow-up committee under the supervision of the Minister of Housing, the implementing coalition, and with the support of the political leadership and the Council of Ministers.

At the beginning of the project, it took them about 6 months to prepare parts of the site (roads - removing trees - setting up camps - bringing in workers and equipment). The work site was exposed to a huge flood, which led to the suspension of work in the tunnel diversion of the river, in addition to challenges imposed due to the spread of the Coronavirus and its impact globally. The pandemic negatively affected the supply of equipment from outside Tanzania.

-       What are the project implementation rates?

Excavation and backfill works were completed at a rate of 14 million cubic meters, while concrete works were carried out at a rate of 3 million cubic meters, including RCC and CVC reinforced concrete.

-       What are the details of the hydroelectric power station included in the project?

The hydroelectric power station is the largest in Tanzania, with an electrical capacity of 6,307 thousand megawatts / hour annually. The generated power will be transmitted through 400 kV power transmission lines to a sub-station, where the electric power generated will be integrated with the public electricity grid in Tanzania.