Tanzania inaugurates 2115 MW Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 22, the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant, already connected to Tanzania's national grid, held its official inauguration ceremony, with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan unveiling the project plaque. With an installed capacity of 2115 MW, the plant is the largest power generation facility in Tanzania, with a total project investment of approximately 7.452 trillion Tanzanian shillings, equivalent to about 2.84 billion US dollars.

Located on the Rufiji River, the project is owned by the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO), with a consortium of Egypt's Arab Contractors and Elsewedy Electric responsible for construction. The plant is equipped with 9 turbine-generator units, each with a capacity of 235 MW, along with supporting infrastructure including a dam, a reservoir with a storage capacity of approximately 34 billion cubic meters, a switchyard, and 400 kV transmission facilities.

The project entered the construction phase in 2019 and did not generate its first power on the day of this ceremony. According to TANESCO data, the first unit was commissioned on February 22, 2024; by October 2024, 4 units had been connected to the grid, and by February 2025, 8 units were completed. The contractor confirmed in the same year that all 9 units had been fully constructed and put into operation. The event held on August 22 marked the official inauguration and plaque-unveiling milestone after the project entered its operational phase.

With the full capacity of the plant included, Tanzania's total installed power generation capacity has reached 4646 MW. The country's Minister of Energy, Deogratius Ndejembi, stated that the national grid's peak load is approximately 2271 MW, resulting in a surplus of 2375 MW based on installed capacity. Hydropower currently accounts for about 60% of Tanzania's electricity generation, with natural gas power serving as the other major source.

The new electricity will be transmitted through the national transmission system to load centers and will provide a power supply foundation for cross-border electricity trading. Tanzania is advancing electricity trade with countries including Kenya and Zambia. With Kenya, a bilateral buying and selling arrangement based on supply and demand conditions has been established, while cooperation with Zambia on power supply is in the agreement and consultation stage.

Two days before the official inauguration ceremony, Tanzania completed the commissioning of the 345-kilometer 400 kV transmission line from Chalinze to Dodoma, along with the Zuzu substation, adding transmission capacity for delivering power from the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant to the central region.