Ethiopian Review

PRESS RELEASE

Ethiopia’s massive 300 megawatts Tekeze River hydroelectric project is complete after 10 years of construction.

MWH, the Colorado-based the engineering and construction firm that oversaw the design and construction, began working on the US$350 million project in 1998. It is Africa’s tallest dam at 188-meters high and is expected to play a vital role in meeting the country’s growing demand for electricity.

“All challenges faced during more than 10 years of work on this project are outweighed by the increased quality of life for the Ethiopian people,” said Ralph Watt, project manager for MWH.

The hydroelectric plant is expected to improve reliability in a country that regularly imposes blackouts on its 80 million residents due to a shortage of power supplies. In August, the Tekeze plant generated power for the first time in a test run.

“The Tekeze hydropower plant is going to deliver immediate, significant and sustainable energy benefits for the people of Ethiopia,” said MWH President and Chief Operating Officer Alan Krause. “We are very proud to be involved in this project that combines our expertise in wet infrastructure and our mission to help build a better world.”

Since the hydropower plant is nearly three hours from the nearest city, MWH guided the development of 37 km of roads and three small towns, where nearly 3,000 workers reside. Over the duration of the project, several hundred local engineers and technicians received formal classroom and on-the-job training, thus building the technical skills of residents for future initiatives.

MWH is leading the world in results-oriented management services, technical engineering, construction services and solutions to create a better world. The wet infrastructure sector encompasses a full range of water related projects and programs from water supply, treatment and storage, dams, water management for the natural resources industry and coastal restoration to renewable power and environmental services. MWH is a private, employee-owned firm with offices in 34 countries on six continents.

Source: MWH