An Egyptian consortium has begun installing the first turbine for the Julius Nyerere Hydroelectric Power Project (JNHPP) in Tanzania, Egypt’s Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities Assem El-Gazzar announced on Wednesday.

The JNHPP, which is located in the Morogoro area on the Rufiji River in Tanzania, is being built through a joint venture of two Egyptian companies, the Arab Contractors Company and Elsewedy Electric, and will secure a clean power supply for more than 60 million Tanzanians as well as control water flow during flooding.

El-Gazzar noted that the installation of the first turbine was observed by officials from the Tanzanian Ministry of Energy, the employer of the project.

A crane carrying a part of the first Turbine which was installed for the Julius Nyerere Hydroelectric Power Project dam in Tanzania. Photo courtesy of Egyptian cabinet Facebook page

The installed turbine is the first of nine, each with a capacity of 235 mw, and the total hydropower dam’s capacity stands at 2,115 mw, a statement by the ministry said.

El-Gazzar, who visited the project site in May, said in Wednesday’s statement that Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah has continuously followed up on the JNHPP, which is of great importance in highlighting cooperation with African brothers.

Chairman of the Arab Contractors Company Sayyed Farouq said the progress on the project is going well and according to the plan, indicating that all the workers are aware of the importance of this project to realise the dream of the Tanzanian people.

During the installation of first Turbine for the Julius Nyerere Hydroelectric Power Project dam in Tanzania. Photo courtesy of Egyptian cabinet Facebook page

The dam is some 1,025 metres long at the summit and 131 metres high with a storage capacity of about 34 billion cubic metres of water. When complete, the JNHPP will be the largest in Tanzania, and the energy generated will be transmitted through transmission lines at a voltage of 400 Kilovolts to a substation where it will be integrated into the national electricity grid.

The project dates back to August 2017 when Tanzania announced bids for the construction of the dam. In December 2018, the contract was assigned to Arab Contractors and Elsewedy Electric at a budgeted cost of $2.9 billion.

In February 2019, the government of Tanzania handed over the construction site to the Egyptian companies and construction began in the third quarter of 2019, and the project is scheduled to be completed by 2022.

workers and engineers installing the first Turbine for the Julius Nyerere Hydroelectric Power Project dam in Tanzania. Photo courtesy of Egyptian cabinet Facebook page