An Egyptian joint venture of Arab Contractors Company and Elsewedy Electric is building the 2,115MW Julius Nyerere hydropower plant and dam across the Rufiji River in eastern Tanzania.

The total cost of the megaproject is US$2.9 billion.

Construction started in 2019 and the plant is expected to be commissioned in 2024.

The main scope of work comprises the following elements:
•    Construction of the main dam using RCC concrete, with total length 1,025m at crest level and 130m dam level
•    Construction of four saddle dams with lengths of 1.4km, 7.9km, 4.6km and 2.6km with a maximum height of 21.3m, 14m, 12.4m and 5.5m respectively, with a capacity to impound 33 billion m3 of water
•    Construction of a 2,115MW hydropower plant and a 400kv substation, with 400kv transmission lines linking to the national grid.

Other civil works include the construction of about 21km of permanent access roads and 59km of temporary access roads, administrative and control buildings, workshops and stores, a 660m-long diversion tunnel and two coffer dams, a permanent concrete bridge over the Rufiji River, and a residential housing complex.

The work involves some impressive figures:
•    Total excavation is about 4 million m3
•    Total aggregate backfilling is about 7.5 million m3
•    Total volume of concrete used is about 2.6 million m3
•    Total weight of reinforced steel used is about 64,000 tonnes
•    Total of nine turbines, each with a capacity of 235MW.

Julius Nyerere was the first president of Tanzania.

Let’s now look at some photos from the project.

(All photos sourced from the website of Arab Contractors Company)