Eng. Sayed Farouk – CEO & Chairman of the Arab Contractors Company, visited Tanzania to follow up 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 He was accompanied by Eng. Hossam El Reefy – AC Board Member, Eng. Ayman Attia and Eng. Rafea Youssef- Deputy Managers of the JV, Eng. Darem Debsi - Representative of the JV, Eng. Mohamed Samaha - Project Director for Civil Works, Eng. Mohamed Zaki - Project Director for Electromechanical Works, Eng. Osama Shawkt – Deputy Manager for Civil Works, Eng. Khaled Badawy – Equipment Manager, Eng. Nada Atef – Manager of Subsurface Dams Works, Eng. Ahmed Dessouki – Manager of the Main Dam, Eng. Fathy Khalil – Roads Manager and Eng. Hassan Gharib – Planning Manager.
The Chairman monitored all project components, acknowledged the time schedules, emphasized the importance of maintaining the current pace of work in the project until its completion, and indicated that it is being closely monitored by the Egyptian state due to the great importance it represents to the brotherly Tanzanian people.
It is worth noting that the project includes the construction of a 1,025m dam at the top, with a height of 131m. The dam’s lake has a storage capacity of 34 billion m3. It also includes a 2,115-megawatt hydroelectric power plant. The station is located on the side of the Rufiji River in a nature reserve in the "Morgoro" area southwest of Dar es Salaam (the commercial capital) and the largest city in Tanzania. The project consists of the main dam – hydropower generation plant and intakes works – 3 tunnels to transfer the water to the power plant - interconnecting electric power grids - 4 subsurface dams for reservoir impounding of water - a permanent concrete bridge on Rufiji - the construction of permanent access roads to ease movement and link the project components - permanent client camp.
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. 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.
The concrete works of the main dam have also been completed, amounting to 1.4 million m3 of compacted concrete. The civil works of the main gates of the dam are being completed,
Work on the main intakes of the channels connecting the water to the building that houses the turbines is proceeding at the planned rate. As the main channels inside the mountain have been cut in lengths exceeding 1500 meters and the concrete canvas for the 3 channels lining have been completed, and all the outlet gates have been installed and assembled.
It is noteworthy that the works related to the subsurface dams are proceeding according to the planned rates, as the amount of backfill is 5.5 million m3, in addition to 350 thousand m3 of concrete.
Work is underway on the main structure of the turbine building, which is one of the most important project components. The civil works of the turbine assembly building (Erection Bay) have also been completed, and three huge cranes have been installed to receive the main turbine units. Furthermore, the installation of the supplied turbine parts is now underway and is being done to the highest quality standards. The main bridge extending over the Rufiji River has been completed as part of the dam project, which helps move the weighty turbine units between the two banks of the river. It has the largest capacity of any bridge in Tanzania, capable of holding up to 300 tons. The bridge is 250m and is established on 2 columns only, with a height exceeding 50m above the surface of the river.