5 October 2012 – The preliminary study on the 700MW Mnyera hydroelectric project on the Rufiji River has been completed by Brazilian companyQueiroz Galvao Construction and was presented to the Rufiji Basin Development Authority (Rubada) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The Mnyera falls are located between the three regions of Iringa, Njombe and Morogoro.
Rubada director general Aloyce Masanja says the next step is to form a technical committee comprising members from Rubada and other government agencies to review it and give their suggestions to the board within a few weeks. The authority officials will then meet with their Brazilian counterparts for final consensus after which the environmental impact assessment (EIA) and actual implementation would follow.
Preliminary estimates show that the project will cost US$1 billion. It is envisioned that the Mnyera hydroelectric project will start producing electricity by 2015. The whole of the Rufiji Basin has the potential to produce 4,000 MW.
