Nyerere Power project enters crucial stage

Dar es Salaam. While President Samia Suluhu Hassan will witness the maiden filling of the Julius Nyerere Power Dam (JNHPP) today, a section of academicians characterise the event as a dream come true.

The move comes at a time when the dam’s construction has reached 78 percent, with the minister in charge of Energy, Mr January Makamba, stating it is a milestone worth celebrating.

Mr Maharage Chande, the managing director of the state-owned Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (Tanesco), believes that two rainy seasons are sufficient to fill the dam to capacity.

“Engineers believe that if everything goes as planned and we get enough rain, two seasons would be enough to fill the dam, so the operation might begin as early as 2024,” said Mr Chande.

On the other hand, Eng Robert Mwanga, an independent construction consultant, explained that the first filling, among other things, serves as a test of the dam’s function for which it is designed for.

“Diversion channels are built by engineers to keep water from entering the building area. When the construction is finished, the flow of water to the dam site must be resumed in order to fill the reservoir,” he explained.

According to him, the scheduled filling is an indication that Tanzania has made it, and that the water level will progressively rise until it reaches the necessary operational level, at which point electricity generation will commence.

“This is not a one-time event, I am certain that engineers on site have prepared for the filling and will do all possible to regulate and closely monitor the progress in order to minimise the danger of failure,” Eng Mwanga said.

For his part, Dr Paul Loisulie, a lecturer at the University of Dodoma (Udom), considers the event to be one of the country’s most significant accomplishments in realising a long-held desire of the country’s founding president, Julius Nyerere.

“It is a dream come true; there were many talks and oppositions from local and international environmental activists, but former President (John) Magufuli held firm and ensured that the project got forward,” Dr Loisulie re-counted.

He added: “When power generation begins, power costs will be reduced, there won’t be power rationing as the country will have enough supply for its power demand and the surplus will be sold to our neighbours.”

Furthermore, Dr Loisulie believes that effective management of the dam and its power station is critical to its long-term viability.

“We had over 400 industries that were handed to our people to handle, but they died naturally due to bad management; we don’t want that to happen with this dam; Tanesco should make this project sustainable,” the don warned.

However, Dr Richard Mbunda, a lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam (Udsm), said that communication channels must be active when carrying out such a large project, saying: “This was supposed to be done last year, we have been eagerly waiting, it is a very huge achievement not only for the country, but also for President Hassan and her administration.”

Dr Mbunda remarked: “We had an information vacuum, which allowed falsehoods to purposefully spread and ruin the image of this administration, showing that they had abandoned this effort. As a result, having the JNHPP filled with water is a relief and a compliment to the President.”

According to media reports, President Hassan will witness an event that marks the beginning of the filling of the reservoir that extends 158,000 square kilometres upstream of the main dam and has an operational capacity of 32.7 billion cubic metres and a maximum design capacity of 34 billion cubic metres.