M a r k e t N e w s
Tanzania: Kinyerezi II to Be Completed By December - Project Leader
Posted on : Wednesday , 19th July 2017
By December this year, the ambitious Kinyerezi II power project will be providing about 30 to 240 megawatts of electricity to the national grid in attempts to further expand the country's power generation capacity.
The revelation was made over the weekend in Dar es Salaam by the project manager Steven Manda, when he addressed the press on the progress of the project.
He said every month, the Kinyerezi Phase II power plant would have capacity to generate at least 30 megawatts, and at least 240MW upon completion, all adding capacity to the national grid.
He said since its inauguration by President John Magufuli in March last year and laying of a foundation stone on the same date, its progress has risen to about 63 per cent, expressing confidence that it was at a better stage.
The project worth about 344 million USD (approximately 722bn/-), is currently being built at the Kinyerezi area in Dar es Salaam.
During the laying of the foundation stone, President Magufuli directed the Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO) to do away with hiring electricity generating plants and instead, come up with constructive ideas on how to set up their own power plant.
"Hired plants are very expensive.
They are a big burden to consumers who have to pay more to compensate for the high capacity charges, which end up benefitting the companies signing such contract(s) with TANESCO, like it was the case with IPTL," pointed out the president.
He directed that the country should come to a point where it generates its own reliable power and sell surplus to other countries, just like it is happening in other parts of the world.
"That capacity is here with us," stressed Dr Magufuli and further directed the then Minister for Energy and Minerals, Professor Sospeter Muhongo, to work on the issue, and cautioned him to be watchful on 'experts' who would advise him to hire external power plants to address shortages in the country.
Fielding questions from reports during the briefing, the acting TANESCO Managing Director Dr Tito Mwinuka, said the completion of the project would fall within the earlier agreed timeline.
He commended the government for disbursing its funds on time for the implementation of the project, saying that also made their work to run smooth.
During the tour, the journalists also had time to see Kinyerezi Phase I, which is equally being boosted to increase an additional 185 megawatts to the national grid, apart from the earlier 150 megawatts which is now completed.
Upon the completion of the additional initiative, it will have the capacity to produce a total of 335 megawatts of electricity.
The completion of the two projects will help TANESCO to have an ability to produce enough electricity in the country, as latter gears for industrialisation of its economy.
Source : http://allafrica.com
