AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE government has assured investors who wish to put up various projects in the country to come in bigger numbers since there is enough electricity to help them run their businesses.
The assurance was given here by the Minister for Energy, Dr Medard Kalemani while opening a two-day seminar for senior editors from different media organisations, which was organised by Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO). The seminar was also attended by senior TANESCO managers.
Speaking at the occasion, Dr Kalemani said the country has enough electricity and that the state owned power firm was currently producing more than the demand per day. TANESCO convened senior editors with the intention of taking them through various projects currently being implemented countrywide.
Among the major projects being executed by the power utility firm is the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project (JNHPP). on Sunday, the editors are expected to visit the project site located along the Rufiji river, Coast Region.
on Saturday, Dr Kalemani assured of timely completion of the project. Upon completion in June 2022, the JNHPP will produce 2,115 megawatts of electricity.
The project is fully funded by the government of Tanzania at a cost of 6.5 tril/- and executed by a joint venture of Egyptian companies, Arab Contractors and El Sewedy Electric Co.
According to the Minister, the implementation of the project was progressing well, and so far the contractor had already received 1.9tril/-.
“This is one of the mega projects in the country because it is the fourth power project being implemented in the African continent, and within SADC it is the third largest project while in the East African Community (EAC) it is the largest,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Dr Kalemani reiterated the government’s plans to ensure that all the remaining 2,500 villages that are yet to be connected with electricity are expected to have power within the next two years.
“Next month we are expecting to roll out yet another milestone in the implementation of Rural Energy Agency (REA) projects to electrify the remaining villages, and, within the next 24 months, they will be connected to the national grid,” he said.
