Egyptian contractor irks energy minister
ippmedia.com/en/news/egyptian-contractor-irks-energy-minister
February 23, 2021
23
Feb 2021
Correspondent
Rufiji
News
The Guardian
Egyptian contractor irks energy minister
ENERGY minister Dr Medard Kalemani has directed contractors building the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project (JNHPP) to bring on site all the 13 experts remaining in Egypt so that they operate within the premises as required in the agreement signed with the government.
The minister issued the directive while touring the project for generating 2115 megawatts, asking the contractor to increase resource use, including transporting equipment for a while stranded at the port of Dar es Salaam.
He told the two Egyptian firms, Arab Contractors and Elsewedy Electric, to ensure they adhere to directives from the government, where the contractual agreement indicates that there are 27 experts at the site and not 14 who are on site currently.
This is considered essential in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) accord the firms signed with the government, he stated.
“I have been told by the contractor that some experts are working from abroad. Why work from abroad while the project is here? You should ensure that all the resources that are required to be here are mobilized to the site,” he asserted.
The minister also advised Rufiji basin regional commissioners and district commissioners to ensure they monitor activities on the banks on the river so that the water level isn’t disturbed as this would affect electricity generation.
Dr Kalemani directed that lead engineer Mohammed Hassan be replaced following delays in formulation of key units as scheduled in the work contract.
He said the consortium should immediately begin construction of an electricity highway to for power transmission to the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) work site and other areas, ready to start supplying power as the work proceeds.
The minister said that he will be visiting the project each month to follow up on the directives, with
acting resident engineer Emanuel Mwandambo assuring the minister that all the directives will be worked upon to ensure efficiency and
timely completion of the project.
The Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project (JNHP) building contract was signed in December 2018 between state owned power company, TANESCO and the two Egyptian firms, with the work billed at 6.6trn/-. The work is supposed to be completed mid June next year.