Diplomatist Special Report - Tanzania Tanzania 2018 | Page 21

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technical and fi nancial assistance for setting up projects in
these domains and utilise the immense potential of renewable
energy in our country.
India and Tanzania decided to work together in the
development and use of natural gas during the visit of
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Tanzania in
2016. What kind of partnership have the two nations
built in this respect in terms of their present projects and
future plans?
The two countries pledged to cooperate in the area
of power generation by using natural gas. That is, Indian
companies with fi nancial support from their government
could participate as Independent Power Producers (IPP).
However, due to the requirement of Tanzanian Government
guarantee by IPP and inclusion of capacity charges in the
tariff, we have come up with a proposal to develop power
projects under the arrangement of EPC plus Financing. With
the adoption of this new approach, Indian companies can now
easily participate in the power generation projects in Tanzania.
Also, some of the Indian fi rms have already become a part of
transmission line construction projects in our country and we
encourage more such organisations to invest in future projects.
Tanzania faces the challenge of low access to electricity
in rural and urban areas due to poor transmission
infrastructure that has hindered the development of the
overall economy. How will the country resolve this issue
to accelerate economic and social development?
The Government of Tanzania, in collaboration with
International Financial Institutions, has implemented projects
to consolidate the existing transmission and distribution
infrastructures. Also, implementation of new transmission
and distribution infrastructure has been undertaken with
some projects expected to be carried out in the future as
well. Some of these ongoing ventures have also witnessed
the participation of Indian companies. We are encouraging
more such companies to come forward under the EPC plus
Financing arrangement.
Tanzania has a lot of isolated regions in rural areas which
cannot be connected by the national grid. As many as 176
villages have problems of accessibility, thus facing a shortage
of electricity. To solve this problem, the government has
come up with a rural electrifi cation programme under which
we will use reliable, affordable and predictable energy for
electrifi cation of the isolated villages. We also have a specifi c
section in the Ministry for harnessing the various sources of
renewable energy and hence supplying electricity across the
country. Thus, the section is spearheading the movement of
“Sustainable Energy for All”.
The Government of Tanzania,
in collaboration with
International Financial
Institutions, has implemented
projects to consolidate the
existing transmission and
distribution infrastructures.
In 2016, the state-owned power utility fi rm TANESCO
highlighted Tanzania’s aim to become an energy exporter
by 2018. How successful has the country been in achieving
this target and what is the road ahead?
In order to become a power exporter, Tanzania needs to
accomplish two things. Firstly, it is needed that the country
has power interconnectivity lines between Eastern and
Southern African countries. In this context, we have already
started the 400kV transmission line project to interconnect
Tanzanian and Kenyan grids. We will soon undertake the
interconnectivity project between Tanzania and Zambia.
The second task is to have adequate and excess power for
export at affordable and competitive tariffs. To achieve this
goal, the Tanzanian government through TANESCO and in
collaboration with International Financial institutions has
planned to implement power generation projects by using
natural gas and hydropower.
Can you shed some light on the solar energy potential
in Tanzania and its commercial viability? Also, what are
your expectations from Re-invest Summit 2018?
Tanzania has an abundant solar resource for power
generation. Solar power projects will be implemented in
phases depending on the penetration level of non-dispatchable
renewable energy sources in the interconnected grid network.
We have planned to implement a total of 250MW projects
by 2021.
As far as the upcoming Re-invest Summit is concerned,
we will explore all available opportunities to access funds at
affordable fi nancing terms (including concessionary loans)
to implement the planned solar power projects.
TANZANIA• 21