Jacobsen Elektro AS, a Norwegian power engineering firm has secured a $530.6 million contract for supply and installation of power generation equipment in Tanzania.
The contract includes supply and installation, testing and commissioning of equipment at Ubungo in Dar es Salaam and Nyakato in Mwanza.
Engineer Simon Jilima, project coordinator of Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) said the project is part of a continued multilateral effort to enhance the energy sector in Tanzania and specifically focuses on closing the remaining gaps in the distribution networks in and around Dar es Salaam.
The 160 megawatts emergency power plant addition will be a complete turn-key project including gas fired generators with extension of electrical and mechanical auxiliary equipment, control and monitoring system.
Mr. Jilima said that the $530.6 million will see the construction of 100MW power capacity plant at Ubungo at a cost of $124.8 million, and the 60MW power capacity at Nyakato in Mwanza at a cost of $354 million, to be switched on in June next year.
"The generators in Dar es Salaam will produce electricity using natural gas while the Mwanza facility will run on heavy fuel oil," he said adding that the generators for the 160MW emergency power plant project wil be shipped in from Siemens in Sweden by the end of this month.
Jacobsen Elektro AS will provide an operation and maintenance supervision program for two months after commissioning date. This will include a training provision for designated local Tanesco staff.
Furthermore, Jacobsen will provide factory recommended spares and replacement parts for a period of 12 months.
Badra Masoud, communications manager of TANESCO told The EastAfrican that once completed, the two projects will fill generation capacity gap and thus improve the availability and reliability of power supply. Ms. Masoud said the two projects have been financed 15 per cent by the Government and 85 percent by HSBC Bank of Norway. "The government is also completing another 70 MW power project in Tanga which will be switched on to the national grid in July this year.
In line with closing the energy gap, the Tanzania government has also set aside $700 million for the construction of hydropower plant at Rumakali in Iringa region to cover 25 percent power demands in the country when completed.
William Ngeleja, Minister for Energy and Minerals said that the Russian based-Zarubezhstroy Corporation (ZARS) will embark on a five-year project on hydroelectric power plant at Rumakali that will initially generate 222 MW to be fed directly into the national grid.
Mr. Ngeleja said the plant to be the largest independent hydropower project and is set to cater for the country's power demands by 20 to 25 per cent. Others are the Mchuchuma Coal fired plant with 200 MW power capacity to be completed by 2023 and the Rumakali hydropower,222 MW power project is expected to be completed by 2024.
Source: The East African