Tanzania inaugurates Julius Nyerere Dam and hydropower plant with $2.9 billion investment

Cairo, Aug 22 (KUNA) -- Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan and Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly inaugurated the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Dam and Power Station project, implemented by an Egyptian consortium comprising Arab Contractors and Sweco Electric, with investments totaling approximately $2.9 billion.

The Egyptian Cabinet said in a statement on Saturday that Madbouly joined President Hassan on an inspection tour and the unveiling ceremony to launch the Julius Nyerere Dam, one of Africa’s largest dams, in the presence of high-level delegations from both countries.

The statement added that the joint field tour included key stages and vital facilities of the project, including an inspection of the hydropower generation building, which houses nine giant hydro turbines, each with a capacity of 235 megawatts, yielding a total installed capacity of 2,115 megawatts.

Both sides also inspected the connection station and switchgear responsible for transmitting the generated power at 400 kilovolts from the generation units and integrating it into Tanzania’s national electricity grid via two interconnection circuits: Shalizi 1 and Shalizi 2.

The Julius Nyerere Dam is located on the Rufiji River within the Selous Game Reserve in southern Tanzania. It is the country’s largest hydropower project, targeting an electricity generation capacity of 2,115 megawatts, and represents one of the largest infrastructure projects executed by Egyptian companies in Africa. (End) A.S.M / A.M.S