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Tanzania sets aside 300 mln USD for hydropower project in famous game reserve
Source: Xinhua 2018-05-24 22:31:49
DAR ES SALAAM, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The government of Tanzania has set aside 307 million U.S. dollars for the construction of the 2,100 megawatts (MW) Stiegler's Gorge hydropower project in the Selous Game Reserve, the world's renowned wildlife area, a senior official said on Thursday.
Medard Kalemani, the east African nation's Minister for Energy, told the National Assembly in the capital Dodoma that the allocated budget for the mega power project was about 41 percent of the ministry's budget.
"The government has so far evaluated the tenders for the Stiegler's Gorge hydropower project that will help Tanzania in its quest to graduate into an industrial economy by 2025," Kalemani told the House.
He said other planned electricity generation projects included extension of Kinyerezi I and II, Somanga Fungu power project (330MW), Mtwara power project (300MW) and Kakono power project (87MW) and others.
On Tuesday, two Tanzanian Members of Parliament expressed disappointment over a recent move by the government to invite tenders for logging in an area earmarked for Stiegler's Gorge hydropower project.
The MPs, debating 2018/19 budget estimates for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, appealed to the government to suspend the move pending a strategic environmental impact assessment in the area, home to wildlife, including elephants.
Zitto Kabwe, MP for Kigoma Urban constituency, and Nape Nnauye, MP for Mtama constituency, said the logging should not be done until the strategic environmental impact assessment in the area was done.
Last week, the Tanzania Forest Services (TFS) Agency invited tenders for logging in the area to pave way for the mega hydropower project.
Dos Santos Silayo, Chief Executive of the Tanzania Forest Services (TFS) Agency, said: "Our intention is to clear the project area before implementation of the project starts."
TFS has placed a tender invitation on its website inviting bids for logging of tradition standing trees with a total volume of 3.5 million cubic meters in Rufiji district in Coast region.
"We opened the tenders for felling the trees so that they can be used for various purposes rather than destroying them," Silayo told Xinhua by telephone.
Clearance of the area will pave way for the commencement of the mega hydropower generation project at the Stiegler's Gorge in the Selous Game Reserve scheduled to start in July this year.
Tanzania, with a population of approximately 54 million, has just 1,500MW of installed grid capacity.
However, the Stiegler's Gorge project has been a significant concern for many years now due to its potential negative impact on the Selous Game Reserve, a world heritage site renowned for its animal populations and variety of wildlife habitats.
Tanzania sets aside 300 mln USD for hydropower project in famous game reserve - Xinhua | English.news.cn
Stiegler’s Gorge power project to eat up huge chunk of energy budge
May 25, 2018
25May 2018
The Guardian Reporter
News
The Guardian
Stiegler’s Gorge power project to eat up huge chunk of energy budge
Presenting the ministry’s budget proposal in the august House here yesterday, Dr Kalemani said the project will formally begin in July this year with main dam spillways and water tunnels to be constructed in the first three months.
He explained that all tender evaluation processes were completed during the 2017/18 financial year now winding up, and the next fiscal year (2018/19) will be all about implementation.
“The 700bn/- will come from internal sources. Last November we started the construction of the KV 33 line from Dakawa that will be used to transport electricity needed at the project site,” said Dr Kalemani.
The project has garnered much criticism from environmental activists and lobby groups over its potentially negative impact on the famed Selous wildlife ecosystem which qualifies the reserve to be a recognised UNESCO World Heritage site.
Members of parliament have also recently added their voices to the concerns raised, with some pointing to what they say is the absence of a proper environmental impact assessment (EIA) report on the project before it takes off.
But President Magufuli for one has continued to insist that the project’s potential positive gains - in terms of vastly improving the country’s electricity output and supply capacity - far outweigh the negative, thus the decision to go ahead with it remains irreversible.
Meanwhile, presenting its views on the ministry’s budget proposals, the parliamentary committee on Energy and Minerals expressed concern over delayed payments for tender winners currently implementing the rural electrification programme due to a new payment system endorsed by the government of the day.
According to committee chairperson Dustan Kitandula, the new system bars the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) from paying the contractors straight out of the rural electrification fund, and instead send such payment requests to the Ministry of Energy for onward transmission to the Treasury, which will then take any action.
Kitandula said the committee had established that despite submitting their payment requests since August last year, just a few of the contractors were eventually paid after much delay, while the rest had still not been paid by March this year.
“The new system of payment verifications has had the impact of making REA break its agreements with the contractors on the payment periods,” he stated.
Various MPs who debated the ministry’s budget also decried what they called the ‘bad’ situation that the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) currently finds itself in.
According to Ester Bulaya (Bunda – CHADEMA), TANESCO is currently generating less revenue than what it is paying to debtors. The government should devise a way of saving the power utility company from this situation, Bulaya said.
Maftah Nachuma (Mtwara - CUF) called for legal action to be taken against TANESCO officials who are hiking the prices of electric poles up to 500,000/- each, which he said is hardly affordable for the common wananchi.
end
Source: Xinhua 2018-05-24 22:31:49
DAR ES SALAAM, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The government of Tanzania has set aside 307 million U.S. dollars for the construction of the 2,100 megawatts (MW) Stiegler's Gorge hydropower project in the Selous Game Reserve, the world's renowned wildlife area, a senior official said on Thursday.
Medard Kalemani, the east African nation's Minister for Energy, told the National Assembly in the capital Dodoma that the allocated budget for the mega power project was about 41 percent of the ministry's budget.
"The government has so far evaluated the tenders for the Stiegler's Gorge hydropower project that will help Tanzania in its quest to graduate into an industrial economy by 2025," Kalemani told the House.
He said other planned electricity generation projects included extension of Kinyerezi I and II, Somanga Fungu power project (330MW), Mtwara power project (300MW) and Kakono power project (87MW) and others.
On Tuesday, two Tanzanian Members of Parliament expressed disappointment over a recent move by the government to invite tenders for logging in an area earmarked for Stiegler's Gorge hydropower project.
The MPs, debating 2018/19 budget estimates for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, appealed to the government to suspend the move pending a strategic environmental impact assessment in the area, home to wildlife, including elephants.
Zitto Kabwe, MP for Kigoma Urban constituency, and Nape Nnauye, MP for Mtama constituency, said the logging should not be done until the strategic environmental impact assessment in the area was done.
Last week, the Tanzania Forest Services (TFS) Agency invited tenders for logging in the area to pave way for the mega hydropower project.
Dos Santos Silayo, Chief Executive of the Tanzania Forest Services (TFS) Agency, said: "Our intention is to clear the project area before implementation of the project starts."
TFS has placed a tender invitation on its website inviting bids for logging of tradition standing trees with a total volume of 3.5 million cubic meters in Rufiji district in Coast region.
"We opened the tenders for felling the trees so that they can be used for various purposes rather than destroying them," Silayo told Xinhua by telephone.
Clearance of the area will pave way for the commencement of the mega hydropower generation project at the Stiegler's Gorge in the Selous Game Reserve scheduled to start in July this year.
Tanzania, with a population of approximately 54 million, has just 1,500MW of installed grid capacity.
However, the Stiegler's Gorge project has been a significant concern for many years now due to its potential negative impact on the Selous Game Reserve, a world heritage site renowned for its animal populations and variety of wildlife habitats.
Tanzania sets aside 300 mln USD for hydropower project in famous game reserve - Xinhua | English.news.cn
Stiegler’s Gorge power project to eat up huge chunk of energy budge
May 25, 2018
25May 2018
The Guardian Reporter
News
The Guardian
Stiegler’s Gorge power project to eat up huge chunk of energy budge
- At least 700bn/- out of the ministry’s total 1.6trn/- budget proposal for 2018/19 is to be set aside for the much-touted but also much-criticised project in the Selous
Presenting the ministry’s budget proposal in the august House here yesterday, Dr Kalemani said the project will formally begin in July this year with main dam spillways and water tunnels to be constructed in the first three months.
He explained that all tender evaluation processes were completed during the 2017/18 financial year now winding up, and the next fiscal year (2018/19) will be all about implementation.
“The 700bn/- will come from internal sources. Last November we started the construction of the KV 33 line from Dakawa that will be used to transport electricity needed at the project site,” said Dr Kalemani.
The project has garnered much criticism from environmental activists and lobby groups over its potentially negative impact on the famed Selous wildlife ecosystem which qualifies the reserve to be a recognised UNESCO World Heritage site.
Members of parliament have also recently added their voices to the concerns raised, with some pointing to what they say is the absence of a proper environmental impact assessment (EIA) report on the project before it takes off.
But President Magufuli for one has continued to insist that the project’s potential positive gains - in terms of vastly improving the country’s electricity output and supply capacity - far outweigh the negative, thus the decision to go ahead with it remains irreversible.
Meanwhile, presenting its views on the ministry’s budget proposals, the parliamentary committee on Energy and Minerals expressed concern over delayed payments for tender winners currently implementing the rural electrification programme due to a new payment system endorsed by the government of the day.
According to committee chairperson Dustan Kitandula, the new system bars the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) from paying the contractors straight out of the rural electrification fund, and instead send such payment requests to the Ministry of Energy for onward transmission to the Treasury, which will then take any action.
Kitandula said the committee had established that despite submitting their payment requests since August last year, just a few of the contractors were eventually paid after much delay, while the rest had still not been paid by March this year.
“The new system of payment verifications has had the impact of making REA break its agreements with the contractors on the payment periods,” he stated.
Various MPs who debated the ministry’s budget also decried what they called the ‘bad’ situation that the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) currently finds itself in.
According to Ester Bulaya (Bunda – CHADEMA), TANESCO is currently generating less revenue than what it is paying to debtors. The government should devise a way of saving the power utility company from this situation, Bulaya said.
Maftah Nachuma (Mtwara - CUF) called for legal action to be taken against TANESCO officials who are hiking the prices of electric poles up to 500,000/- each, which he said is hardly affordable for the common wananchi.
end