AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE government has banned the importation of equipment used in natural gas projects and directed local industries to start producing them at affordable prices.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting to discuss equipment used for natural gas projects in the country, Minister for Energy, Dr Medard Kalemani, urged players to ensure their availability in the country in six months.
He mentioned some of the equipment to include gas meters, pipes and metals that were used in natural gas projects, specifying its demand to be pipelines for small projects of 200 to 300 kilometres, metals of 300 to 400 kilometres to be used in 8,000 to 10,000 pipelines of natural gas.
“The government would not allow imported equipment to be used in projects as they take a long time to arrive, leading to delays. For example, a project that is to be completed in three months will take more than a year because of waiting for imported materials,” he said.
At the meeting organised by the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) Dr Kalemani stressed that locally produced equipment would help accelerate the supply of natural gas in the country, reduce costs, build the capacity of Tanzanians, increase revenue and employment through industrialisation in the country.
“The locally manufactured equipment will increase the use and supply of natural gas to homes, cars, motorbikes; as well as reduce the cost and duration of connection,” he asserted.
The minister further elaborated that apart from small projects, the manufacturers of the equipment in the country would be able to find markets in other projects like the construction of oil pipeline from Uganda to Tanzania which would cover about 1,105km in the country along with other major gas transmission projects.
