Egyptian Prime Minister and Tanzanian President Officially Launch the Julius Nyerere Hydroelectric Dam and Power Station

Cairo – Ahmed Sabry and Nadeh Imam: Dr. Mustafa Madbouly, Prime Minister of Egypt, participated on behalf of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in an extensive inspection tour of the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Dam and Power Station project in Tanzania, implemented by the Egyptian consortium comprising Al-Mokawloon Al-Arab and Sweco Electric. Dr. Madbouly was accompanied during this tour by Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, along with high-level delegations from both countries.

The joint field tour included inspections of the project’s key facilities and vital structures to assess their completion and readiness for operation. The two sides began by inspecting the hydropower plant building, which houses nine massive hydroelectric turbines, each with a capacity of 235 megawatts, yielding a total installed capacity of 2,115 megawatts. They also inspected the 400-kilovolt switchyard and electrical connection station, responsible for transmitting generated power from the production units and integrating it into Tanzania’s national electricity grid via two transmission circuits: “Shalanzi 1” and “Shalanzi 2.”

The Egyptian Prime Minister and the Tanzanian President also inspected the main dam, one of the largest in Africa. It is a concrete dam stretching 1,036 meters in length and rising 131 meters in height, topped by a bridge connecting the banks of the Rufiji River. The dam impounds a vast reservoir with a storage capacity of approximately 34 billion cubic meters and is equipped with seven water outlets for flow control and discharge.

Following the inspection tour, both sides participated in the unveiling ceremony of a commemorative plaque, marking the official launch and inauguration of the project and the commencement of its actual operation to serve the Tanzanian people and support Tanzania’s development trajectory.

In this context, Dr. Hani Sweilam, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, emphasized that the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project is among Tanzania’s most important national projects, with a generation capacity of 2,115 megawatts, supporting Tanzania’s energy needs and development plans. He noted that the project, located on the Rufiji River within Tanzanian territory in a national water basin, represents a significant developmental achievement for the Tanzanian state and serves as a model for strategic projects capable of driving transformative progress in infrastructure and the energy sector. Dr. Sweilam added that the execution of this mega-project reflects the strength and durability of Egyptian-Tanzanian partnership and confidence in Egyptian expertise and capabilities in implementing large-scale and complex projects.

For her part, Eng. Randa El-Manshaawi, Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, affirmed that this project represents a shining example of partnership and cooperation between Egypt and its partners on the African continent.