Tanzania inaugurated, on Saturday, August 22, 2026, the Julius Nyerere Hydroelectric Power Plant (JNHPP), named after the country’s first president, Julius Nyerere. With an installed capacity of 2,115 MW, the project represents an investment of $2.9 billion for the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO). Located on the Rufiji River in the Pwani region, about 250 km southwest of Dar es-Salaam, it was built by the Egyptian consortium Arab Contractors and Elsewedy Electric, who were awarded the contract in December 2018. The inauguration ceremony was presided over by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, in the presence of the Egyptian Prime Minister.
The dam is a roller-compacted concrete (RCC) gravity dam, 131 meters high and approximately 1,025 meters long at the crest. It impounds a reservoir of about 34 billion cubic meters of water, regulated by a central spillway with seven radial gates. Construction, which began in 2019, was completed in a few years.
Nine 235 MW Francis turbines
The plant is equipped with nine vertical Francis turbines of 235 MW each, totaling 2,115 MW of installed capacity. Each turbine is associated with an inlet butterfly valve and a vertical axis alternator. The expected annual production is about 5,920 GWh.
The electricity produced is injected into the national grid via a 400 kilovolt substation and transmission lines to Chalinze, heading towards Dar es-Salaam.
“Tanzania has made significant progress in strengthening its energy infrastructure, the foundation of our economy’s development. These achievements are part of the implementation of ‘Mission 300’, which aims to provide electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030,” said Samia Suluhu Hassan during the ceremony.
Mission 300: a continental objective
Mission 300 is a joint initiative of the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank (AfDB), launched in April 2024. It aims to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030, on a continent where around 600 million people still lack access to energy. The World Bank Group has committed to doubling its spending in the African energy sector, channeling up to $30 billion towards this goal by 2030.
In 2023, Tanzania’s electricity mix was dominated by natural gas (≈ 70%), far ahead of hydroelectricity (≈ 25%). The commissioning of the Julius Nyerere Dam – which alone adds 2,115 MW to the grid – profoundly alters this balance. The Tanzanian National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicates that in 2024, the share of renewable energies in national production rose to 51%, thanks in particular to the progressive commissioning of new hydroelectric capacities (+2,142 MW).
Meanwhile, Tanzania’s electricity access rate increased from about 14% in 2011 to 46% in 2022 according to the World Bank, a progress described by the institution as “one of the fastest in sub-Saharan Africa.”
The Ethiopian GERD remains the largest dam in Africa
Ethiopia, on the other hand, retains the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa with the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), located on the Blue Nile. With an installed capacity of 5,150 MW spread over 13 turbines, it remains by far the largest hydroelectric project on the continent – Tanzania now ranks second in Africa with the 2,115 MW of the JNHPP.
