Malagarasi Hydropower Project49.5 MW · Kigoma Region · Tanzania
Uvinza District · Kigoma Region · United Republic of Tanzania

Clean power from the Malagarasi River

A 49.5 MW run-of-river hydropower plant being designed, built and commissioned for TANESCO, with financing from the African Development Bank. When complete it will bring reliable grid electricity to western Tanzania.

Project overviewLatest progress
The dam site on the Malagarasi River, September 2026
49.5MWinstalled capacity
3generating units of 16.5 MW
≈1.5kmof reinforced-concrete headrace culvert
132kVgrid connection from the switchyard
441people on site, 4 Oct 2026
Latest updates
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Project film

Malagarasi in two minutes

From the river at Igamba Falls to the 132 kV grid connection: how the scheme makes power, what is being built on the four work fronts, and what the project is doing with the villages around the site.

Overview

A run-of-river scheme in western Tanzania

The Malagarasi Hydropower Project (MHPP) harnesses the Malagarasi River at Igamba Falls in Uvinza District, Kigoma Region. Under an EPC contract signed on 8 February 2024, the Lot 1 works cover the design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of the 49.5 MW plant. The Employer is the Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO); the Employer's Representative is the Multiconsult Norge AS / Norplan joint venture; and the project is financed by the African Development Bank.

The scheme is a diversion-type development. Water is taken at a headworks on the river, carried about 1.5 km through a reinforced-concrete box culvert to a surge shaft, and dropped through a steel penstock to a powerhouse with three 16.5 MW units. The tailrace returns the water to the Malagarasi, and a switchyard delivers the output to the regional grid at 132 kV. Permanent works also include the access road, a permanent camp and the full electro-mechanical package.

Employer
Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO)
Financier
African Development Bank
Employer's Representative
Multiconsult Norge AS / Norplan JV
Type
Run-of-river, diversion scheme
Location
Igamba Falls, Malagarasi River, Uvinza District, Kigoma Region

The path of the water

  1. Headworks

    Dam, spillway, intake and sand-flushing channel

  2. Headrace culvert

    ≈1.5 km reinforced-concrete box culvert

  3. Surge shaft

    Balances pressure between culvert and penstock

  4. Penstock

    Steel penstock to the turbines

  5. Powerhouse

    3 × 16.5 MW units, tailrace, switchyard and 132 kV connection

How it works

Inside a generating unit

The powerhouse holds three identical 16.5 MW vertical Francis units. Follow the water through one of them, or take it apart to see its main components.

Flow animation
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Step 1 of 8

One of three units

Each unit is a vertical Francis turbine coupled directly to a generator above it.

Schematic illustration of one unit; proportions simplified.

Project parties

Built for TANESCO, with the African Development Bank

EmployerTanzania Electric Supply Company Limited
FinancierAfrican Development Bank Group
Employer’s RepresentativeMulticonsult Norge AS & Norplan Tanzania Limited
How it will look

The completed scheme

The renderings below show the plant as it will look once the works are finished.

Rendering of the headworks: overflow weir, intake, scour sluice and control building
Headworks: overflow weir, intake and scour sluice
Rendering of the powerhouse complex with surge tank, penstock, substation and tailrace channel
Powerhouse complex: surge tank, penstock, powerhouse, substation and tailrace
Rendering of the Employer's permanent Camp A
Employer's permanent Camp A: staff houses, school and clinic
Rendering of the Employer's permanent Camp B
Employer's permanent Camp B: staff houses, mess, club and sports facilities
Interactive 3D model of the powerhouse Interactive 3DPowerhouse 3D modelRotate the powerhouse, cut sections through the units and take the building apart floor by floor.For demonstration only: this is an illustrative 3D model and differs from the actual works.Open the 3D model →

Explore the project

Project progress

Milestones since contract signature and the state of each work front.

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Site photos

Aerial and ground photographs of the headworks, culvert, powerhouse and camps.

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Community & social responsibility

Clean water, classrooms, roads, football and local jobs for the villages around the site.

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