Russians to invest US$700 million in Tanzanian hydro- power project

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania — ESI-AFRICA.COM — 04 May 2011 – A Russian utilities company is planning to invest US$700 million in what could be the largest independent hydro-power project in Tanzania, wire services reported.

HydroWorld.com says the reports indicated that power and construction company Zarubezhstroy Corporation, or ZARS, was set to embark on a five-year venture to construct a hydro-electric power plant in the south of the country in Rumakali, in the Iringa Region. A ZARS official disclosed the plan during the Ninth African Investment Forum here.

When completed, the hydro project is expected to meet 20 to 25% of Tanzania’s power needs. It will initially generate 222MW to be fed directly into the national grid, and could eventually have a capacity of more than 460MW, according to the wire reports.

The Russian company, which also produces and supplies equipment to electricity ventures across the globe, has power production operations in several African countries, including Libya and Uganda.