El Gazzar thanks the Egyptian JV of the Arab Contractors and Elsewedy Electric, which is implementing the project, for this achievement.
Dr. Assem El Gazzar - Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, witnessed the operation of the first turbine in Julius Nyerere Dam and Hydropower Plant project on Rufiji River in Tanzania, during his inspection of the work progress, where the mechanical and electrical installations of the first generating unit in the project were completed, and its tests were completely successful, which allowed for the first time to open the main water valve on turbine no. 9, where the water successfully took its path through the turbine stages until exiting into the river, and the turbine rotated with the hydropower for the first time and successfully reached the mechanical operating speed (150 rpm) and also achieved the power grid frequency (50 Hz).
Dr. Assem El Gazzar - Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, thanked the Egyptian JV of the “Arab Contractors” and “Elsewedy Electric” companies implementing the project for this achievement, which is being continuously monitored by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi - President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, given the great importance it represents to the brotherly Tanzanian people, stressing that this visit comes to follow up on work on the ground and to convey a message to Tanzanian officials of the Egyptian state’s interest in Julius Nyerere Dam and Hydropower Plant project on Rufiji River to achieve development in Tanzania.
The Minister of Housing was accompanied by the Egyptian Ambassador to Tanzania, Mr. Sherif Ismail, Major Gen. Mahmoud Nassar – Head of the Central Agency for Reconstruction and Head of the Project Follow-up Committee, Eng. Ahmed El Assar – CEO and Chairman of the Arab Contractors Company, Eng. Ahmed El Sewedy – CEO of Elsewedy Electric, Eng. Hossam El Din El Rify – Senior Vice Chairman of the Arab Contractors Company, Eng. Wael Hamdy – Senior Vice Chairman of Elsewedy Electric, Eng. Ayman Attia and Eng. Heba Abul Ella - Board Members of the Arab Contractors Company, they were received by Darem Debsi – Project Coordinator, Eng. Mohamed Samaha – JV Manager and Eng. Mohamed Zaki - Project Director for Electromechanical Works and officials of the JV.
The Minister of Housing declared that the project consists of a 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 18 billion m3 of water were stored in the dam lake. The water reached a level of 169.5 degrees above sea level, as the minimum operating level for turbines is 163 degrees above sea level.
The JV officials declared that the total implementation rate reached about 96%, as the main dam works, the intake works, and 3 tunnels for the passage of the necessary water to the turbines building, an electricity distribution and connection station, and 4 subsidiary dams to form the water reservoir were completed, and the main bridge linking the two banks of Rufiji River has been completed, which is one of the main components of the 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.
The officials of the JV added that the foundation layer work for the permanent roads has been completed, and the final layer and paving work are being completed. The permanent road to facilitate movement and connect the project components has reached 80%, the hydropower station has reached 88.44%, and the client’s permanent camp has reached 99%. The work is also underway on the main structure of the turbine building, one of the most important units of the project, as the civil works for the turbine assembly building have been completed and 3 giant cranes have been installed, with a capacity of 400 tons per winch, to install the main units of the turbines, as well as the parts supplied from the turbines, which include 9 turbines in addition to the auxiliary electromechanical systems. The installation of 27 transformers, towers, and connection lines between the turbine building station and the interconnection station was completed. The installation of two turbines, including the auxiliary and control systems, was completed and connected to the main control building. The testing work is ongoing, and the initial operation of turbine no. 9 to generate electricity is ongoing as well to generate 235 MW and upload it to the external grid of Tanzania. The rest of the turbines are being installed after the concrete work for the entire building has been completed. The first and second phases of the concrete work have been completed; the turbine outlet building, the river dredging works with a total of 250000 m3, and the interior finishing are being completed. The external finishing work of the building was completed, and the distribution and connection station with a capacity of 400 KVA was completed, linking it to Chalinze station in Morogoro region and connecting it to the capital, Dar es Salaam. The testing and operation were carried out successfully, as the connection line was tested and received the electricity required for the initial operation and tests of the turbines, and then started generating electricity from the turbines and uploading it to the external network.
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 to build a hydropower plant with a capacity of 2115 MW.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.