Egypt’s Sisi directs government to complete construction of Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant in higher quality

CAIRO – 4 September 2020: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi directed the government to complete the construction of Tanzania's Rufiji Dam and Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant, which is being implemented by the Egyptian Arab Contractors in cooperation with Elsewedy Electric, in higher quality, according to a statement issued by the Cabinet on Friday.

The plant aims to produce electrical power with a capacity of 2,115 megawatts and is being implemented at a cost of $2.9 billion. The amount of electricity produced per annum will be 6,307 megawatts/hour. The capacity of the transmission lines connecting the plant to a regular power plant is 400 kilovolts.

Four dams will be constructed in addition to the main dam in order to form the reservoir. Also, 2 temporary dams located in front of and behind the main dam will be in place to redirect Rufiji River while the main dam is being built. There will be two siphons for surplus water. One of them is for emergencies.

The project includes a tunnel extending on 703 meters to redirect the river, and 3 other tunnels transmitting water to the hydropower plant. That's in addition to the introduction of a permanent bridge and two temporary bridges over the river as well as permanent and temporary roads in the area.

The under-construction dam is 1,025 meters in length, and 134 meters in height, with a storage capacity of about 34 billion cubic meters. The project is expected to benefit 17 million Tanzanian families.