- Tanzanian authorities say the Julius Nyerere dam is 62 per cent complete.
- The government plans to start generating power from the dam by June next year.
- When completed, the dam and the hydroelectric power plant will generate about 2.1GW of electricity.
The Tanzanian government has stated its intention to start operating the Julius Nyerere dam (Stiegler’s Gorge hydroelectric dam) by June 2022. The hydroelectric dam will generate 2,115MW when completed. During a visit to the dam, the country’s Minister of Energy, Medard Kalemani, stated that the dam is already 62.7 per cent complete. He added that currently, work is being carried out to install the draft tubes at the base of the ninth turbine, which will evacuate water from the electricity generators.
Elsewedy Electric and Arab Construction are implementing the hydroelectric dam project. The dam has a height of 134m and can hold 32.3 billion cubic metres of water, while the reservoir has an area of 1,350 square kilometres.
The dam construction is almost complete, and both companies are now focused on constructing the hydroelectric plant. The plant will comprise nine vertical Francis turbines. Each unit will have a capacity of 235MW. The Tanzanian government plans to start filling the dam by November 2021 and generate electricity by June 2022 with full operations slated for 2027.