PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan will today inaugurate the filling of water in the hydropower dam at the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project (JNHPP) located in Rufiji in Pwani region, after the construction of an embankment that supports the storage of water in the dam has been completed.

President Samia will make the launch in an event that will be held at the project area by pressing a button that will lower the gates that will block the way of the water diversion and allow the water to start filling up in the dam.

The step of filling water in the dam with a size of 32.3 cubic meters, is expected to use two rainy seasons to complete the filling and allow the power plants to be activated.

Speaking about the launch, the Minister of Energy, January Makamba said the event will be attended by an estimated 200 people including various government leaders, political parties and citizens and a delegation of 300 people from the Egyptian Government led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of that country which that is where the contractors of the project come from.

He said that the action to prevent the diversion of water to allow water to fill the dam, will not prevent the water of the Rufiji river from going to the other side for other ecological and agricultural uses due to the way the project was designed.

He mentioned that one of the benefits of the project if the electricity is stopped is for the farmers who farm in the Rufiji River Valley because it will prevent the floods that were causing crop damage and from now on the water that will go down to the farmers will be controlled and reach the appropriate level.

The project, which is expected to generate 2,115 megawatts of electricity, is expected to eliminate the problem of electricity shortage in the country and reduce costs for the people.

The increase of 2,115 megawatts will enable Tanzania to meet its electricity needs and have a surplus to be sold abroad.

Speaking at the end of the week in the project area, January said that the construction of the dam is being implemented in stages where in order to get the dam, it was necessary for the contractors to divert the water of the Rufiji River and find a dry area to dig a tunnel and make an embankment with holes that will allow the water to be filled.

He said that the 700-meter-long tunnel has just been completed and allowed the filling of water in the dam to begin and will be inaugurated today.