Country Tanzania Status Operational Height 40 m Owner TANESCO | Purpose Power Construction began 1970s Catchment area 10 km² Impound Great Ruaha River | |
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Official name Bwawa la Kidatu (Swahili) Location Kidatu, Morogoro Region | ||
Kidatu Dam is a hydroelectric dam located in the Rufiji River Basin in Tanzania. The Kidatu power plant was built in two phases under the name of Great Ruaha Power Project in the 1970s for phase one and 1980s for phase two. Phase I was completed in 1975 starting with the construction of an earth-rock fill dam, a generating capacity of 2 x 50 MW, and 220 kV transmission line to Dar es Salaam via Morogoro. Phase II, completed in 1980, involved two more 50 MW generators, and construction of a bigger storage dam at Mtera with a capacity of 3,200 million cubic metres (2,600,000 acre·ft).
The plant has undergone two major rehabilitation works. Phase I covered repairs to turbines one and two, replacement of excitation equipment and repair of a damaged generator unit. These works were executed from 1993 to 1994. The second rehabilitation commenced in 1999. Major works were computerizing the control and protection system, repair to turbines, replacement of runners on units 1and 2, generators and water ways. The project was financed by SIDA, NORAD and Tanesco at the estimated cost of about 12 Million US$.