Tanzania to sign $3 billion power plant deal

• 5 years ago (2018-12-14)
• David Flin

Africa 320 Hydroelectric 17

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Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has announced that his Government will sign a deal for the construction of a $3 billion hydroelectric power plant. The power plant and dam will be built in the Selous Game Reserve, a UN-designated world heritage site in southern Tanzania.

Magufuli said Tanzania was moving ahead with the project due to improved revenue collection by the government. He said that the project would more than double the country’s power generation capacity.

The Tanzanian Energy Ministry issued a Power System Master Plan last year that mapped out how much investment would be required in the sector. The plan noted that around 40 per cent of Tanzania’s 50 million population has access to electricity. The Government wants to boost the electrification rate to 90 per cent by 2035. Magufuli said that the country needed to invest $46.2 billion over the next 20 years to revamp its ageing energy infrastructure and meet soaring electricity demand.