TWO electricity generating plants at the Julius Nyerere Hydro Power Project (JNHPP) are being tested so that they can be added to the national grid soon.

James Mataragio, the Energy deputy permanent secretary, made this affirmation yesterday in the company of members of the Public Investments Committee (PIC) of the National Assembly, in the aftermath of three plants being switched on, generating 705 megawatts of electricity.

He expressed expectation that all nine plants at JNHPP will be activated to generate 2,115MW of electricity by early next year, as the parliamentarians visited the project site yesterday to witness the progress of the key public investment.

The project is billed to cost 6.5trn/- until its completion, he said, noting that one more plant is expected to be switched on for testing later in November, citing plants that have started working as number 9, 8 and 7.

Mary Masanja (Special Seats), the committee vice chairperson, described the massive investment as productive as it has facilitated sufficient electricity generation for the national grid.

The project has provided opportunities for Tanzanians to find various jobs in the project during construction, with 6.1trn/- already been paid to the contractor out of the total amount agreed, she stated.

This project will make the country have a surplus of electricity generation, thus being able to sell power to neighbouring countries when the need arises, she elaborated.

The committee overseeing government investments is satisfied with the investment layout and achievements, she said, urging persistent pursuit of strategic project plans.

She was appreciative of government steadily assuring disbursing of project allocations, pointing out that project implementation has reached 98.99 percent according to site experts.

“It is a project that every Tanzanian should be proud of," the MP declared, while Nicholaus Ngassa (Igunga) said that the massive project has vastly improved power supply in the country.

He said in his constituency many people are already connected to electricity, improving lives as people start income generation activities. They are especially keen to start using electricity as clean energy for cooking and abandoning the use of wood and charcoal, she added.