Tanzania on Wednesday awarded a $3-billion (2.64-billion-euro) contract to two Egyptian firms to build a hydro-electric dam in a renowned nature reserve. The 2,100-megawatt scheme will straddle the Rufiji River in the Selous Game Reserve, a 50,000-square-kilometre (19,000-square-mile) protected area which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982.
Arab Contractors and El Sewedy Electric, which won the tender for building the dam, signed the deal on Wednesday in Dar es Salaam with Tanzanian President John Magufuli and Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbuli in attendance. In a televised speech, Magufuli dismissed fears about the scheme's impact on the environment.