- Tanzanian authorities are launching the filling of the reservoir of the Julius Nyerere hydroelectric dam on the Rufiji River.
- The facility will power the turbines of a 2,115 MW hydroelectric plant, one of the largest in East Africa.
Tanzanian Authorities are beginning to confiscate the Julius Nyerere hydroelectric dam, which is being built in the heart of the Selous Game Reserve in the Pwani region, about 220 km by road southwest of the economic capital Dar es Salaam. The impoundment is a crucial step before the Stiegler’s Gorge hydroelectric plant is commissioned.
Its basin will be able to hold 34 billion m3 of water thanks to a 134-meter-high concrete dam in the shape of an arch. Its reservoir will span 1200 square kilometres in the heart of the Selous Reserve. The water flowing down from the dam will turn the turbines of a 2,115 MW power plant. The plant’s annual capacity is estimated to be 5,920 GWh by the Tanzania Electricity Supply Company (TANESCO), which is implementing the project.
The Tanzanian government finally awarded the Stiegler’s Gorge hydropower project to Arab Contractors (ArabCo) and El Sewedy Electric after intense negotiations between Dodoma and Cairo. The two Egyptian flagships started work a few months after the contract was awarded in April 2019. Egypt and Tanzania are putting this $3 billion hydroelectric megaproject at the heart of their diplomatic relationship.
However, Tanzania, like the rest of East Africa, is experiencing an increase in droughts, which reduces the level of dams and hydropower production. According to the United States International Trade Agency, it is therefore critical to diversify Tanzania’s electricity mix by introducing other sources, including solar, which is less important and accounts for less than 1% of this East African country’s electricity mix (ITA).