AfricaPress-Tanzania: DEPUTY Minister for Energy, Stephen Byabato has promised that December this year, the Rural Energy Agency (REA) will cover the remaining villages countrywide in its Rural Electrification Densification Project, Round II (A).
He said REA’s Densification IIA programme that covers nine regions of Mbeya, Pwani, Tanga, Kilimanjaro, Dodoma, Singida, Tabora, Shinyanga and Mwanza will accommodate the remaining areas.
Mr Byabato said under the programme, REA has electrified 1,103 cells as well as connecting 69,079 hamlets.
He made the promise in Parliament here on Thursday, while responding to Ukerewe Member of Parliament (MP-CCM), Joseph Mkundi, who said there was acute power shortage in some hamlets, and wanted to know the government’s commitment in solving the situation.
In response, Mr Byabato said the Rural Electrification Densification II A will end in December this year and cover the remaining households at 197bn/-.
He equally, assured the legislator that the remaining hamlets will be reached as planned on its timetable.
Moreover, he said, the government is committed to ensuring that all areas are electrified in the Rural Electrification Densification IIB planned to kick off in April, this year.
The Densification IIB project will cover hamlets in ten regions of Arusha, Geita, Kagera, Katavi, Kigoma, Lindi, Morogoro, Njombe, Simiyu and Songwe.
The project is expected to cover 1,686 hamlets and connect more than 95,334 customers with power at 230bn/- by October 2022, when the project officially ends.
