Work progresses on Julius Nyerere hydropower plant and dam in ...

July 26, 2023

Work progresses on Julius Nyerere hydropower plant and dam in Tanzania

Eng. Hossam El Din El Rifi, Senior Vice-Chairman of the Arab Contractors Company, visited Tanzania to follow up on the work progress of Julius Nyerere hydropower plant and dam project, which is being implemented by the Arab Contractors Company and El Sewedy Electric Company on Rufiji River in Tanzania. He was accompanied by Eng. Ayman Attia - AC Board Member, and Eng. Hisham Hegazy- CEO of Elsewedy Electric PSP. During the visit, Eng. Hossam El Rifi confirmed Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's keenness to regularly follow up on the project in light of its great significance to the Tanzanian people. and this visit is based on the directives of Dr. Assem El Gazzar - Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, as well as to convey a message to Tanzanian officials emphasizing the interest of the Egyptian state in this project to achieve development in Tanzania. This was in the presence of Eng. Darem Debsi - Representative of the JV, Eng. Ayman Attia and Eng. Rafea Youssef- Deputy Managers of the JV, Eng. Mohamed Samaha - JV Manager, Eng. Osama Shawkt - Project Director for Civil Works, Eng. Mohamed Zaki - Project Director for Electromechanical Works, Eng. Hamdy Farg - Project Manager for Hydropower Plant Building, Eng. Ahmed El Menshawy - Construction Manager of Electromechanical Work, Eng. Ahmed Barakat and Eng. Mohamed Mohsen - Managers of Saddle Dams Work; Eng. Hany El Behery - Deputy Manager of Roads, Eng. Hassan El Gharib - Planning Manager, Eng. Eng. Sary Soliman - Manager of Main Dam Work. The project consists of a main dam with a total length of 1025m at crest level and a height of 134m and a capacity to impound approximately 34 billion m3 of water. Besides, the construction of a hydropower plant with a capacity of 2115mw. 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 14 billion m3 of water were stored in the dam lake. The water reached a level of 164 degrees from sea level, as the minimum operating level for turbines is 163 degrees from sea level. The project consists of the main dam - the hydropower plant, the intake work, 3 tunnels for the passage of the necessary water to the turbine building - an electricity interconnection station - 4 saddle dams to form the water reservoir - a permanent concrete bridge on Rufiji River - the construction of permanent roads to facilitate movement and link the components of the project - the permanent camp to the customer. 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. It is noteworthy that the implementation rates of the project have achieved a remarkable increase, as all elements of the project have reached advanced stages of implementation. The concrete works for the main dam have also been completed, amounting to 1.4 million m3 of compacted concrete. The main gates of the dam have been installed, and the finishing and testing work is underway. Work on the main intakes of the water-connecting channels to the turbine building is progressing according to schedule. Besides, the incision of the main channels inside the mountain is accomplished with lengths exceeding 1500 m, and the concrete lining work for the 3 main channels is completed, as is the installation of the gates for the intakes. The saddle dams work are proceeding according to the planned rates, as the amount of backfill is 5.5 million m3, along with 350,000 m3 of concrete, where the work of the main body of the debris dams 2, 3, and 4 are completed, the work is underway in the concrete saddle dam No. 1 and the main structure of the turbines building, which is one of the most important units of the project, where the civil works of the turbine assembly building (Erection Bay) have been completed, and 3 giant cranes have been installed, with a load of 400 tons per winch, in preparation for receiving the main units of the turbines, in conjunction with the installation of 9 turbines for the 27 transformers, towers and interconnection lines between the turbine building station and the Interconnection station. The first phase of concrete work has also been completed, and the interior and exterior finishing of the building are complete. The main bridge linking the two banks of Rufiji River has been completed, which is one of the main components of Julius Nyerere Dam 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.