Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere Hydroelectric Power Dam, a major project undertaken by an Egyptian consortium of companies, is now 97.74 percent complete, according to a statement by Egypt’s Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities on 13 May.
“Minister El-Gazzar emphasised that the Egyptian government places great importance on this significant project, which embodies the distinguished relations between Egypt and Tanzania,” the statement reads.
With a budget of USD 2.9 billion (EGP 136.4 billion), the dam extends 1,025 metres in length across Tanzania’s Rufiji River, and can hold approximately 34 billion cubic metres of water.
The hydroelectric project also aims to address Tanzania’s electricity deficit by supplying clean power to over 60 million people – adding 400 kilovolts to the national grid – while also controlling floods and improving agriculture.
Construction of the project, which commenced in 2019, is being managed by a joint venture between two Egyptian firms: the state-owned Arab Contractors Company and Elsewedy Electric.
Egypt’s cooperation with Tanzania in building “confirms Egypt’s cooperation with the Nile Basin countries, and refutes Ethiopia’s accusations” former Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mahmoud Abu-Zeid told Asharq Al-Awsat in 2022.
Tanzania, one of the 11 Nile Basin countries, is solely funding the project, creating employment opportunities for approximately 8,000 Tanzanians, 1,000 Egyptians, and numerous other foreign workers, the statement concludes.
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