Construction of the facility will involve building a main dam and appurtenant structures, with expected reservoir length of 100 km, covering an area of about 1,350 square km. The Dam is also the road bridge between the Iringa and Dodoma regions and is part of the Great North Road (Cape Town to Cairo). It covers more than 50,000 square kilometers (19,305 square miles). Some experts doubt whether building the dam actually makes sense, not least because people living in remote areas often lack a connection to the electricity grid. Tanzania is Constructing Africa's LARGEST Hydro-power dam on river Rufiji. Tanzania is starting the process of building the fourth largest hydro dam in Africa and the ninth largest in the world. STIEGLER'S HYDROELECTRIC DAM IN THE SELOUS GAME RESERVE, TANZANIA Dr. Rolf D. Baldus Part 1 The Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania, covering some 50,000 square kilometers, is Africa’s oldest and largest contiguous, uninhabited nature reserve. Outside the reserve, downstream, the consequences would also be dramatic. The hydropower plant could result in Selous being struck off the list altogether. For the government of the East African nation, the project marks a decisive step in the process of improving the electricity supply countrywide. The project according to government officials will cost $3 billion. Jane Flanagan. Read our full mailing list consent terms here. The dam height is about 134 meters. We use cookies to improve our service for you. The president said he hoped the project would boost industrial development. Kihansi Hydroelectric Power Station, is a 180 megawatts (241,384 hp) hydroelectric power station in Tanzania.The power station is reported to generate the electricity with zero carbon dioxide emission. One of the first projects implemented under this initiative, the Tulila hydroelectric plant on the Ruvuma River in southern Tanzania has since 2015 been delivering 5 MW (with provision to expand to 7.5 MW) of renewable electricity to a TANESCO-operated mini-grid, which supplies the remote Ruvuma region. “I want to reassure everyone this project in fact aims to promote the environment,” Magufuli said, Business Day reported. The Kikagati Hydroeletric Power Project is a low-head, run-of-river 16 MW Hydroelectric Project on River Kagera. Tanzania has been considering to establish the power station since the 1960s. “We need to make the case urgently that wildlife conservation can not only pay for itself, but that it is often the best way for the human populations who live around it to realise their legitimate aspirations for development and prosperity. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. The president said the dam would not only meet national electricity needs but would also provide power to export. It is expected to generate electricity in Tanzania and throughout East Africa,” says Ayman Farouk, Elsewedy Technology’s Head of Sales and Development. It is home to hippos, elephants, giraffes, lions, rare African wild dogs and more than 400 bird species. The president of Tanzania has inaugurated a huge controversial hydroelectric dam project in a wildlife reserve at the centre of warnings over rhino and elephant populations. The project has been widely criticized as it involves large-scale destruction of the game reserve which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Conservation groups have opposed the Stiegler’s Gorge project in the Selous Game Reserve, the country’s largest wildlife area, which Unesco says has one of the most significant concentrations of elephants and black rhinos. Power plants already exist upstream. "Otherwise the government would not be credible in the eyes of its own taxpayers. This concrete gravity dam on the Kihansi River has a height of 25m and a … Last month the IUCN, together with Unesco’s World Heritage Centre, called for an immediate halt to logging and other preparations, warning of “irreversible damage” if it went ahead. Despite major backlash from conservationists, the Tanzanian government plans to start building a hydropower dam inside a UNESCO-protected wildlife reserve this July. Construction of 10km-long internal roads, 15km-long residential roads, 350 permanent houses, and 3,000 secondary houses is also part of the project. Hydroelectric Dam Threatens Tanzania’s Largest Game Reserve. Tanzanian President John Magufuli is to lay the foundation stone for the construction of Stiegler’s Gorge hydroelectric power project. The International Monetary Fund predicts the economy of Tanzania, will grow by 4 per cent this year, down from 6.6 per cent last year. Five years ago it moved on to the red list of endangered culture sites as the numbers of animals were falling as a result of organized poaching. Some wildlife groups have expressed dismay over the $2.9 billion Stiegler’s Gorge project in the Selous Game Reserve, which the United Nations calls one of Africa’s largest protected areas. “The Rufiji Dam is a strategic project. In December 2018, the Tanzanian government announced that Egypt’s largest companies in the construction sector — Arab Contractors and Elsewedy Electric — won a bid to build the dam … This was widely criticized by other parties. "The Tanzanian government thinks it can generate a certain pressure to act by creating a fait accompli," the WWF's Kirchgatter told DW. Tanzania hydroelectric dam threatens Unesco wildlife refuge. According to Power Africa, the government of Tanzania is planning to increase the country’s generation capacity up to 10,000MW by 2025 from the current 1,358MW. Got an opinion about the stories making headlines? The project is being implemented at a cost of $2.9 billion through a partnership between the Tanzania Electric Supply Company ( TANESCO ) and two of the largest Egyptian companies in the construction sector — Arab Contractors and El-Sewedy Electric . © 2021 Deutsche Welle | Construction work on the plant on the Rufiji River is being carried out by two Egyptian companies at an estimated initial cost of almost 4 billion dollars (€3.6 billion). President John Magufuli of Tanzania will travel to Rufiji on Friday, July 26, 2019, to launch the Stiegler’s Gorge hydroelectric project. Julius Nyerere Hydropower Station (JNHS), also called Rufiji Hydroelectric Power Station, is a 2,115 megawatts (2,836,000 hp) hydroelectric dam under construction in Tanzania. The debate ended with the approval of a proposal made by the conservative CDU/CSU parties together with the Social Democrats (SPD), calling on both the German and Tanzanian governments to look for alternatives to the mega project which would not endanger the status of the game reserve. What does Egypt have to gain from building a dam in Tanzania? The government of Tanzania has officially handed over the area around the 2,115-MW Rufiji hydro project to joint venture contractors Arab Contractors Company and Elsewedy Electric Company. Hydroelectric station Region Coordinates River Type Name of reservoir Capacity (MW) Year completed Hale Power Station: Tanga Pangani River: Run-of-the-river: 21 1964 Nyumba ya Mungu Power Station ... Kidatu Dam: 204 The Dam is also the road bridge between the Iringa and Dodoma regions and is part of the Great North Road (Cape Town to Cairo). Tanzania on Friday launched the construction of the 2,115MW hydropower plant over Rufiji River, defying protests by wildlife and nature conservationists about the “desecration” of the Selous Game Reserve, a Unesco Heritage Site. We will sample your texts in our show. Additional infrastructure will include electrical switch gears, protection system, and fire detection system along with auxiliary power supply, DC systems, and cooling and sewage systems. Mtera Dam is the largest dam in the country in terms of height, crest length and concrete volume. The capacity of the dam’s reservoir is 34 billion cubic meters. The 180MW hydroelectric facility in the Lower Kihansi Gorge, south-central Tanzania, has been on stream since December 1999. According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), only 10% of the population in rural areas have access. Tanzanian President John Magufuli is moving ahead with a poorly planned and wildly expensive hydroelectric dam project that threatens to push the country’s economy – and the environment – off a … The Elephant Protection Initiative said the fact that a leading wildlife country was “prepared to contemplate drowning their natural crown jewels in pursuit of megawatts must serve as a serious wake-up call to everyone in conservation”. Hale Dam is a hydroelectric dam in Tanzania, located in the Tanga Region. Due to its universal importance, it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. Tanzania signs contract with Egypt to build controversial hydroelectric dam in UNESCO World Heritage site, Selous Posted on 12 December 2018 Wednesday 12 December: WWF’s statement in response to Tanzania signing a contract with two Egyptian companies to build a hydroelectric plant in the UNESCO World Heritage site, Selous. But earlier this month, Mr Magufuli downplayed fears for the environment, saying that by providing energy, the dam would deter locals from felling trees for fuel. A separate proposal, to use gas turbines as an interim solution, was also turned down, with several parliamentarians saying that would open the door for another 50 years of fossil fuel burning. | Mobile version. President John Magufuli called the project “the start of economic liberation”, saying the reserve – which is also a haven for cheetahs and giraffes – has been considered a potential energy source for decades. ‘Beginning today, this will indicate that Tanzania is an independent country... and not a poor country’, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. The 2,100MW hydropower plant is being constructed on the Rufiji river in Stielger’s Gorge, Tanzania. The president of Tanzania has inaugurated a huge controversial hydroelectric dam project in a wildlife reserve at the centre of warnings over rhino and elephant populations. The construction of Tanzania’s largest hydroelectric power project officially began on Friday after President John Magufuli laid the foundation stone. Johannes Kirchgatter of the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) does not believe energy supply problems can be solved by building a mega dam above the Stiegler Gorge. The Selous Game Reserve is considered to be Africa's largest. Privacy Policy | Tanzanian President John Magufuli is to lay the foundation stone for the construction of Stiegler’s Gorge hydroelectric power project.. One can only speculate about the dam's economic success, Hoffmann told DW, but it is a fact that vast areas of forest have been destroyed ahead of construction. Malagarasi HPP will be a run-of-the river hydropower plant (IP = 49 MW) located on Malagarasi River in Tanzania. The Julius Nyerere dam is among the largest hydroelectric dams in the East Africa region. Lower Kihansi Hydropower project, Tanzania. The scheme, expected to take three years to finish, will mean chopping down 2.6 million trees to flood an area covering about 1,200sq km, including the habitats of the site’s last remaining black rhinos. ... which envisions Stiegler’s Gorge helping interconnect the grids of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia. The Tanzanian government plans to start construction of the Stiegler's Gorge hydroelectric dam on Friday, July 26, 2019. Is climate change jeopardizing the future of hydropower plants? More than 2.6 million trees face the chop. If the region is removed from the UNESCO list, it may be possible to attract additional investors since the argument that a world heritage site was being destroyed would no longer be relevant. You can find more information in our data protection declaration. 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