Egyptian firm to build Sh300b Dar power plant

Egypt’s El Sewedy Electric company will be involved in building a Sh300 billion ($3 billion) Tanzanian hydroelectric power plant, Tanzania’s energy minister said on Wednesday.

The minister said in comments broadcast on state television that the plant would have an installed capacity of 2,115 megawatts (MW).

“The project will be implemented by Egyptian firm Arab Contractor, with a joint venture with El Sewedy Electric,” Medard Kalemani said.

The dam will be built in the Selous Game Reserve, a UN-designated world heritage site in southern Tanzania.

President John Magufuli recently said the East African country was moving ahead with the project due to improved revenue collection by the government, without giving details.

The 2,100 MW project would more than double the country’s power generation capacity. But the project’s location is in a World Heritage site and has faced opposition from conservationists.

They have said the construction of a dam on a major river that runs through the Selous Game Reserve could affect wildlife and their habitats downstream. The government invited bids in August last year for the project at Stiegler’s Gorge which is in the Selous Game Reserve.

Egypt’s El Sewedy Electric Co has said it will also participate in the construction of the dam. Arab Contractors will have a 55 per cent stake in the project and El Sewedy 45 per cent, Ahmed Hassouna, El Sewedy’s head of marketing, said on Tuesday. Covering 50,000 square km, the Selous Game Reserve is one of the largest protected areas in Africa, according to UNESCO. It is known for its elephants, black rhinos and giraffes, among many other species.

The World Wildlife Fund conservation group said in a report in July last year the proposed large-scale hydropower dam “puts protected areas of global importance, as well as the livelihoods of over 200,000 people who depend upon the environment, at risk.”