Tanzania has picked Arab Contractors, an Egyptian construction and contracting company as the preferred contractor for the design and construction of the 2,100-MW Stiegler's Gorge hydroelectric project on the Rufiji River, which flows through the 45,000-sq-km Selous Game Reserve, one of the largest World Heritage sites.
Arab Contractors, which was the main engineer-procure-construct (EPC) contractor for Egypt's Aswan High Dam completed in 1970, has teamed up this time with Egyptian manufacturing company El Sewedy Electric Co. S.A.E. Once ground is broken, the $3.6-billion project will take 39 months to complete. No precise date has been given for the start of the controversial project, which is being promoted by state-owned Rufiji River Basin Authority.