Tanzania Infrastructures development & Discussion .

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Implementation of a comprehensive programme aimed at reducing traffic congestion and ease public transport in Dar es Salaam has finally started.

The programme would involve construction of tarmac roads in different parts of the city, fly-overs at the main junctions, introduction of passenger train and setting up stations for marine transport service, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development said yesterday.

According to an official statement issued by the ministry, the plan aims to redress long-standing transport problems including traffic congestion on the city’s roads.

“There has been serious problems of congestion, especially at the main junctions of most city roads…with the latest programme, these problems will be resolved,” the statement, signed by the ministry’s permanent secretary, Omar Chambo, said.

It said the problems, particularly congestion, made it difficult for people to easily access business centres, public and private offices and social services centres.

The notorious roads according to the statement included Mandela, Morogoro, Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Old Bagamoyo and Kawawa --which forced users to spend many hours on the roads.

There are an estimated 300,000 registered vehicles plying Dar es Salaam routes, equivalent to 62 per cent of the registered vehicles countrywide, the statement said.

In a recent meeting between the ministry and development partners, it was disclosed that the decongestion plan had started to be implemented through short-term, medium-term and long-term plans.

Construction of tarmac roads started in the 2008/09 financial year, as one of the short terms measures; Chambo was quoted as telling the partners.

“The plan is expected to be completed in the year 2010/11,” he noted and involved construction of a 6.4-kilometre road from Ubungo Bus Terminal via Kigogo to the round-about of Kawawa road at a cost of 11.4bn/-.

It also involved construction of 2.7-kilometre road from Kigogo to Jangwani-Twiga at the cost of 8bn/-, Jet Corner – Vituka – Devis Corner Road (10.3Km) in Temeke at the cost of 12.9bn/-, Kigogo-Tabata Dampo road (2.3km) and construction of Box Culverts at Bungoni areas along Nyerere Road to cost 2.181bn/.

The second phase of the short term plan to be completed in 2011/12 would involve construction of the Mabibo External road through Kilungule to Kimara Korogwe covering a distance of nine kilometres.

The other road will start at Mbezi Victoria to Kifuru via Kinyerezi to Banana (14km).

The statement said the plan will also include expansion of Morocco Road via Old Bagamoyo to Mlalakuwa, covering nine kilometres and connecting with Ali Hassan Mwinyi Road via Tanzania People’s Defence Forces.

The implementation of the third phase of the short plan which started since 2008/09 and would continue to 2012/ 13 would include construction of a road from Mbezi Mwisho to Goba and from Goba to Tangi Bovu.

Another road, according to the statement, would start from Goba to Tegeta Kibaoni while another one would run from Kimara Baruti via Ubungo Msewe to Changanyikeni.

The statement said under the Japanese government sponsorship, the government was completing preparations to start the extension of Morocco - Mwenge (4.1km), Mwenge – Tegeta (12.9km) and Bendera Tatu – Gerezani/Nyerere, Kamata junction (1.7km).

On Rapid Transit Project the statement said the project would be implemented under the supervision of Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office - Regional Administration and Local governments and Infrastructure Ministry via Tanzania National Road Agency.

The medium term plan focused on implementing the projects which were included in a five-year plan, the statement said, further disclosing that the project would include the construction of flyovers at the road junctions.

The road junctions at which the flyovers would be constructed include Ubungo, Tazara, Gerezani, Mwenge, Morocco, Magomeni, Chang’ombe and Institute of Accounts at Kurasini, the statement said.

The Long term plan would involve the construction of four lanes from Kimara Mwisho to Kibaha and from the junction of Kawawa and Nyerere roads at Chang’ombe to Tandika area.

Chambo said preliminary process to establish the train routes from railway station to Ubungo Maziwa had been completed.

He said experts from his ministry and other stakeholders had completed the inspection process and endorsed that the route be established.

According to Chambo, the Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (SUMATRA) had also endorsed the plans, indicating that minor maintenance would be carried out on the railway line while preparations for passenger stations would be constructed at Kamata (Gerezani), Makuburi, Kwa Mnyamani, Tabata relini, AMI, Mabibo and Ubungo Maziwa

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Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Minerals, David Jairo and BORODINO General Director, Razmik Tarverdyan signs contract in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

The government has signed a contract with a Russian-based company to produce 222MW of hydro-electricity, nearly a quarter of the country’s daily demand of 897MW.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Minerals, David Jairo said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the ‘Rumakali Hydropower Project’ will be implemented in Iringa region for the medium term of 2013 and 2018 under the power master plan.

He said the investor would be allowed to start production upon completion of the project even before the deadline of 2018.

Jairo said the Russian company ‘BORODINO’ will invest more than USD 700 million for the construction of water dams and a generation plant.

He said according to the reviewed electricity law, the foreign investors is allowed to produce and sell power to the Tanzania Electricity Supply Company (Tanesco) or later sell its plant to the government.

“We are proud of the Russian energy investment as it will help us meet our daily electricity demand which keeps increasing,” he said.

Jairo said the current daily energy demand in the country is 897MW, saying Tanesco is able to produce 793MW only.

He said latest statistics show that the demand for electricity in Dar es Salaam alone has increased to 433MW, Mbeya 28MW and Mwanza 44MW.

He said power from the Rumakali project will also be connected to nearby villagers not connected to the national grid. Jairo said the government is firmly committed to policies that encourage independent power producers, adding that Tanzania is among the best investment destinations since it has created attractive environment for investors.

“Your decision to support the country’s energy sector is clear testimony of the commitment you have in Tanzania. It consolidates the cordial relationship between the two countries”, said Jairo.

He reiterated that this year there will be no power shedding since due to the existence of thermal and gas sources of generating electricity.

For his part, BORODINO General Director, Razmik Tarverdyan said they have decided to invest in Tanzania because it is one of the richest countries in East African with a lot of potential.

Tarverdyan said: “Tanzania has a lot of investment potential, but we have chosen to start with electricity because it is the main source of development.”

He said that Russia is interested in working with Tanzania which it considers a friend.

On Monday, Tanesco Communications Manager, Badra Masoud was quoted in the media as saying efforts have been made to increase power production in the country.

She said they also depend on the new 100MW power plant at Ubungo in Dar es Salaam, Tegeta power generators which produce 45MW. She said they expect to launch another power plant in Mwanza which will produce 60MW.

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THE CCM Union presidential candidate, Mr Jakaya Kikwete, has said plans are underway for an ultra-modern medical treatment and research centre in Dodoma Municipality.

Addressing a well attended election campaign rally at Jamhuri stadium in Dodoma on Sunday, the candidate said apart from research work, the centre would be of high standards that match any such centre in the world.

The centre would treat a range of health complications and receive patients from different parts of the country and beyond.

“Preparations for the project go hand-in-hand with renovation of Dodoma Regional Hospital,” Mr Kikwete said.

Other significant efforts made to improve services at the hospital include construction of two wards for children, four wards for outpatients, medical store and maternity ward with accommodation capacity of 180 women.

Ongoing renovation was part of the project to expand the hospital and increase the number of beds from 420 to 740.

“The regional hospital will be upgraded to a referral hospital and St Gema will be the municipal hospital,” Mr Kikwete said.

Commenting on water supply in Dodoma, the candidate said the municipality received a 90 per cent supply while rural areas had a 63 per cent distribution. He promised that the shortage being experienced would soon be addressed.

As for the road network, the presidential candidate said funds had been reserved for road construction project within the municipality and the capital is set to have a magnificent appearance.

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THE National Parking Solutions (NPS) is in the process of installing high tech hand-held computerized electronic ticketing machines to improve efficiency.

Imported from Japan, the state-of-the-art machines will not only reduce revenue pilferage but will also record 100,000 transactions at a go and store them on the NPS main computer.

The Electronic Ticketing Machines (ETM) -M28T - are user friendly and will issue a ticket that records parking time in and out, car registration number and the name of the attendant.

NPS Managing Director Mr Hassan Khan said his company has invested 600,000 US dollars (840m/-) in the new venture. He said the ticketing machines would help prevent loss on account of malpractice and provide adequate data by feeding the NPS main server.

“Attendants will just have to enter their password, key in the car’s details and time of parking, ETM will do the rest including printing out a ticket,” Mr Khan said.

NPS has procured 150 hand-held machines which are also “capable of storing data for three months,” Mr Khan said in an interview with the ‘Daily News’ on Sunday.

He added: “This will minimize supervision, cut attending time per vehicle and increase revenue collection.”

Mr Khan said NPS is collecting over 1bn/- per year in the city centre and Kariakoo areas levying motorists 300/- and 100/- per hour respectively. “We remit 50.5m/- per a month to the city coffers ,” he said.

NPS is collecting the city’s parking fees on behalf of Dar es Salaam City Council. The city council does not contribute any thing in the running or collection of the fees as all the cost involved is shouldered by NPS. The city council is only closely scrutinizing the entire operation.

NPS will train its 340 staff on how to operate the machines before they are allowed to use them. “Supervisors and accountants need more training time to integrate the ETMs with computers,” said Mr Joseph Turuka, NPS Technical Manager.

The machines would also provide data on concessions given to various sections. Apart from ETMs, NPS has also bought 150 stationary solar-powered parking ticketing machines, adding them up to another 100 that were in place.

“The stationary machines will be used alongside the portable ones to speed up the charging exercise and reduce loss of revenue,” Mr Turuka said.

However, the stationary machines will be mounted where pavements are in good shape to avoid double installations. The ETM is replacing the ‘outdated’ paper tickets whereby parking attendants would write down car particulars in ticket booklets and tear them out.

NPS started to operate as a parking fee collector, with 70 employees in 2003. It had 100 solar-powered stationary machines.

[tanzan]

Wednesday October 13, 2010
Local News

Four-lane plan for Dar es Salaam - Morogoro highway

By DAILY NEWS Reporter, 12th October 2010

A UNITED States firm, C & Properties and Partners, has shown interest in undertaking an expansion work on the Dar es Salaam-Morogoro highway, notorious for traffic accidents, to four lanes.

The Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Mr Mustafa Mkulo, and the firm’s head, Mr Meir Kohen, had exchanged an initial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the project, a statement said on Tuesday.

Speaking on behalf of the Tanzanian government at the ceremony, the minister told the firm’s management: “We’ve received your application for the project with great pleasure and we are happy to learn that you’ve agreed to invest as we wished.

“But kindly give us two weeks beginning in October 10, 2010 to enable us prepare for you a comprehensive report on the road project from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro as we anticipate to get further details on it from the Ministry of Infrastructure Development as well as views from the government in general,” he said.

After receiving the government report, the New York-based firm will require six months to undertake a feasibility study on the project as well as visit the country to see what to do and to get expert advice.

In case the firm was unable to accomplish the study within the specified period, the government would be obliged to grant it another 90 days, said the statement.

“To cope with the current trend of joint business undertakings, it is better to involve the participation of the private sector,” said Mr Meir.

The statement said since the project was self-funding, the shareholding structure is expected to stand at between 75 and 80 per cent for the private sector and between 20 and 25 for the government.

“This is a large and unique project whose cost would be determined after the completion of the feasibility study,” said the statement.

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By NASONGELYA KILYINGA, 17th October 2010

THE government plans to set up a 100bn/- state-of-the-art industrial complex in Dar es Salaam, CCM Union presidential candidate, Mr Jakaya Kikwete said on Sunday.

A large part of the city almost came to standstill, as CCM staged huge campaign rallies at Magomeni, Manzese and Kawe as Mr Kikwete promised to transform Dar es Salaam into a better place to live.

He told a rally at Manzese that the government has secured funds from China for construction of the proposed industrial complex at the Posta grounds, Kijitonyama area in Kinondoni District.

The complex, Mr Kikwete said, will have the capacity to accommodate up to 10,000 small scale entrepreneurs.

He said the objective was not only to provide them with space to operate smoothly, but also to enable entrepreneurs produce what they sell.

Mr Kikwete said five new machinga complexes were lined up to be constructed, two each at Kinondoni and Temeke, while Ilala will get one additional complex at Buguruni market.

After the completion of the mega projects, Mr Kikwete said, close to 40,000 small scale traders would secure reliable places to operate. At present, he said, businesses were being conducted haphazardly.

"Under the 2010-2015 CCM manifesto, we want to improve further the living standards of our people including small scale traders.

"Apart from the proposed huge industrial complex, we'll construct two Machinga complex in Kinondoni - one at DDC Mlimani Kondoa and the other at Mbezi Luis, each with the capacity to accommodate 7,000 traders," he told the anxious members and supporters at Manzese.

In Temeke the two complexes will be set up at Temeke Stereo and another one at Tazara.

Mr Kikwete directed authorities in the city to make sure that the space for business was strictly reserved for small scale traders and not otherwise.

Mr Kikwete acknowledged the problem of traffic jams in the city, but said it came about as a result of development, saying increased individual car ownership was a testimony that the CCM government was delivering on its promises including empowering them economically and they could now afford to own cars.

However, he said, the challenge ahead was to improve the infrastructure in the city.

He said the CCM government has plans to construct four fly-overs at junctions of Mandela and Nyerere roads and Morogoro and Mandela roads.

"We also have plans to construct fly-overs at the junction of Kawawa and Morogoro roads as well at Chang'ombe junction," he told the rally.

He further said construction of ring roads around the city was going on smoothly, mentioning some of them as Ubungo Maziwa-Kigogo-Jangwani/Twiga to Kariakoo as well as Tabata Dump-Kigogo road stretch, saying they are under construction to tarmac level.

He said the Tegeta Kibaoni to Mwenge road will be widened to four lanes.

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MCC provides 428bn/- for 3 Rukwa road projects

From PETI SIYAME in Sumbawanga, 16th October 2010

THE Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is providing support for the project of upgrading to tarmac level three major roads in Rukwa region at a cost of more than 428bn/-.

Upon completion the project which will cover 600 kilometres will open up Rukwa and connect it with neighbouring regions and bordering countries including Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia and Malawi.

Sumbawanga town is a main trade link with Zambia and DRC through Kasanga port in lake Tanganyika. Six international contractors from Greece, People’s Republic of China, Denmark and The Netherlands are implementing the projects scheduled to take between 22 months and 32 months.

This was revealed by Rukwa Tanroad Regional Manager, Engineer Joseph Nyamhanga, during a function to hand over the work to contractors that took place at Chiwanda and Chenjele villages in Mbeya region yesterday following the recent signing of works contracts to two International Contractors based in China and Greece.

During the occasion MCA -T handed over the Tunduma - Ikana (63.7km) and Ikana - Laela (64.2 km) roads to contractors from China and Greece. Tunduma - Ikana road is one of the sections of the Tuduma - Sumbawanga (223.21km) road earmarked for upgrading.

In April 29 this year MCA -T signed works contract with Aarsleff - BAM international Joint Venture V.O.F from Denmark and The Netherlands to upgrade the Laela - Sumbawanga section (95.31 km).

And handing over of the Laela - Sumbawanga section project took place on June 12 this year at Lwiche area in Sumbawanga Municipality. MCA –T is the accountable entity for the management of the implementation of the project wholly funded by the government of United States of America through Millenium Challenge Corporation.

On September, 17, this year it awarded works contract worth of over 76.1bn/- to M/s China New Era international Engineering Corporation of People’s Republic of China to upgrade Ikana - Laela roads (64.2km) to tarmac level.

Another international contractor, M/s Consolidated Contractors Group S.A (offshore) (CCC) of Greece has been awarded work contract to upgrade Tunduma - Ikana section (63.7km) to tarmac level.

Based on the engineering works analysis, it is estimated that construction work for the duo projects each will take 23 months to complete the projects. The project covering 224.5 kilometres has been divided into three sections to expedite the process. They are Tunduma-Ikana (63.7km), Ikana-Laela (64.2 km) and Laela-Sumbawanga (96.5 km).

It is wholly funded by the government of United States of America (USA) through Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). Mr Nyamhanga further said that other major road projects that are upgraded into tarmac level in the region include Sumbawanga-Namanyere-Mpanda/ Kibaoni (274) and Sumbawanga-Matai-Kasanga Port by Lake Tanganyika (112 km).

Two contracts have already been signed for upgrading to tarmac level of the Sumbawanga- Namanyere-Mpanda-Kizi / Kibaoni road (274 km) and the work has already started . The contracts are for the construction of Sumbawanga-Chala-Kanazi (Namanyere) road covering 75 kilometres.

The contractor is Jianqxi Geo-Engineering (Group) Corparation who will do the job for 78.84 bn/-. The upgrading of Kanazi (Namanyere) to Kizi - Kibaoni (76.6 km) is estimated to cost over 82.84 bn/- upon completion and has been contracted to China Hunan Construction Engineering Group Corporation, according to Mr Nyamhanga.

The road of Sumbawanga – Matai – Kasanga port (112km) will be upgraded at the cost of over 133 bn/- upon. Its contractor is China Railway 15 Bureua Group Corporation (CR15G) jointly with Hunan Provincial Newcentry Road & Bridge Construction Ltd.

The project is undertaken through’ “Design and build'' contract, Mr Nyamhanga said. He added that the projects were wholly funded by the government of Tanzania.

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Economy Shows Recovery Signs

Signs of the economy recovering from shocks of the great recession have begun to emerge with external trade marking a positive performance through increased foreign exchange earnings, The Citizen on Sunday can authoritatively reveal today.

The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) has said that during the year ending July, the country the country's export of goods and service improved tremendously compared with the preceding year.

"During the year ending July, the value of exports of goods and services increased by 17.1 per cent to $5,112. 2 million, compared with the level recorded in the corresponding period a year earlier," BoT notes in the latest monthly economic review (MER).

"This improvement was largely due to a surge in exports of gold...the dominance of receipts from gold was followed by travel and manufactured goods," the central bank further notes in the August MER.

Gross official reserves increased to $3,589.8 million at the end of July 2010 from $3,203.3 million recorded at the end of July 2009, sufficient to cover about 5.7 months of import of goods and services. BoT also says that gross foreign assets of banks increased from $825.3 million in July 2009 to $1,066.5 million at the end of July 2010.

In total, gross foreign reserves of the banking system increased from $4,028.6 million to $4,656.3 million during the period under review, sufficient to cover about 7.4 months of import of goods and services. The country exported goods valued at $3,140 million in the year to July 2010 against $2,557.4 million in the same period last year, reflecting an increase of 3.2 per cent.

During the year ending July 2010, overall balance of payments recorded a surplus of $304.5 million, compared with a surplus of $291.5 million recorded in the corresponding period a year earlier. On the other hand, the current account deficit widened to $2,886.5 million from $2,292.3 million recorded during the year to July 2009, following a significant decline in official current transfers

In the year to July 2010, services receipts stood at $1,972.2 million higher than $1,810.1 million recorded in the similar period a year earlier, following improvement in travel, transportation and other business receipts.

"Travel receipts increased by seven per cent to $1,243.7 million in the year to July this year against $1,162.5 million in the corresponding period a year earlier as the global economy begun to recover from the impact of the global financial crisis," the central bank notes.

Tourism that was hit hard by the global financial crisis shows good signs of recovering as provisional statistics show that the number of international arrivals during the year to June 2010 was 749,582 compared to 718,378 recorded during the year to July 2009.

Transportation receipts grew by 14.2 per cent to $363.6 million in year to 2010 from $318.4 million in similar period a year earlier, largely due to the increase in transit goods to the neighbouring countries.

Provisional statistics indicate that transit goods for the year ending July 2010 increased to 762,547 tonnes from 530,210 tonnes recorded in the corresponding period last year. This development is partly associated with the recovery of the global economy coupled with reduction of container dwell time at the port of Dar es Salaam.

Dwell time (the time that cargo remains in the port terminal storage area before clearance) has dropped from an average of 20 days in January 2009 to between 11 and 13 days for transit and domestic goods.

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A Chinese firm has secured a $5 million contract to build 90 wagons for the regional Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara).

The Chinese Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC) will secure the 50-tonne container open wagons, assisted by China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corporation and Meishan Company, a subsidiary of CCECC. The open wagons will be delivered in eight months.

Akashambatwa Mbikusita-Lewanika, managing director of Tazara, said last week that these type of wagons are used in transporting containerised cargo and metals such as copper and manganese.

Mr Mbikusita-Lewanika said Tazara urgently needs various equipment to turn it around.
“These developments will complement Tazara’s efforts to meet customer expectations in the delivery of quality transport services,” he said.

The $5 million is part of a $40 million loan that the Chinese Government granted Tazara, through the governments of Tanzania and Zambia, under the 14th Protocol in December 2009.

The signing of the supply contract follows the arrival last week of technical experts from China to assess and repair loading equipment, as part of the implementation of the 14th Protocol Agreement.
Other components of the Protocol that are expected to follow include the supply of six new mainline locomotives, rehabilitation of three shunting locomotives and training of staff.

Conrad Simuchile, public relations manager of Tazara, said the wagons will move cargo from the port southwards.
That way, wagons earmarked for picking up copper exports from Zambia and cement from Mbeya will not be empty while travelling from the port of Dar es Salaam.

To match the tonnage being transported to Dar, Tazara is looking for up to 200 containers per week to Mbeya and Kapiri-Mposhi.

Currently, Tazara can move up to 100 containers to Mbeya and 100 to Kapiri-Mposhi every week. It can also transport the same volume to Dar es Salaam.

Tazara is this year targeting to move 700,000 tonnes of freight and 900,000 tonnes of passenger traffic.

In July this year, Tanzania, Zambia and China signed a $39.2 million (Tsh 51 billion) deal to enable Tazara to acquire six new locomotives and repair 1,200 coaches.

The grant has not been fully settled. The Chinese government is said to have offered a discount on the loan, besides cancelling unspecified outstanding debt.

The railway line was built between 1970 and 1975 by Tazara to serve landlocked Zambia as an alternative to rail lines via Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique.

[tanzan]

By BILHAM KIMATI, 21st October 2010

THE Tanzania Roads Agency (TANROADS) has signed a contract with a South Korean M/S Hanil Engineering and Construction Company Limited for construction of Malagarasi Bridge in Kigoma region.

Speaking at a brief signing ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer of Tanroads, Mr Ephraim Mrema, said the 275-metre long bridge construction project will be completed in the next three years.

He said the project will be financed jointly by the Republic of Korea which will contribute USD 23 million and the government of Tanzania, which will also contribute USD 33 million, totalling USD 56 million - the value of the project.

“The project will be implemented in two lots, which include construction of the Malagarasi Bridge and construction of 11 kilometres of two-lane Asphalt paved road.

The signing of the contract is part of the government’s efforts to upgrade roads to bitumen standard for economic development and reduction of poverty,” Mrema said.

Commenting on the significance of the project to the regional economy, Mr Mrema said trade relations would be improved and the volume of cargo to Kigoma and neighbouring Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo would be enhanced.

The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Mr Young -Hoon Kim said technical co-operation between the two countries will help the nation blessed with many resources realise development for the people.

“The Republic of Korea is committed to continue working closely with the government of Tanzania for the country’s development. A brighter future lies ahead and development goals will be realised,” Ambassador Young -Hoon Kim said.

Perhaps the most excited person at the signing ceremony was the Regional Commissioner of Kigoma, Mr Joseph Simbakalia who thanked all stakeholders for the long awaited project.

“This is a very important project the people of Kigoma have been waiting for 100 years, after construction of a railway-line bridge across River Malagarasi. Completion of the project will boost economic activities in the region,” he observed.

He said for many years farmers have not been able to take their crops to distant markets due to transportation costs. The bridge, he added, will facilitate movement of people and add value to crops that previously gave little profit to local farmers.

It was explained that funds had been extended to the country in the form of soft loan at 0.5 per cent interest, with 20 years of repayment after the first ten years of grace period.

The Malagarasi River is Tanzania's second longest river. It empties its waters into Lake Tanganyika about 25 miles south of Kigoma and is one of the lake's primary inflows.

The Malagarasi pre-dates Lake Tanganyika and was formerly a tributary of the Congo River to its west. The first 80 kilometres of the river forms the international boundary between Tanzania and Burundi.

[tanzan]

Natural gas discovered in Mafia

By ABDUEL ELINAZA, 29th October 2010

OPHIR Energy Tanzania, upstream oil and gas company, has encountered natural gas-bearing sands in Mafia offshore Basin, about 400 kilometres south-east of Dar es Salaam.

The results from a well dubbed Pweza-1, with the potential to de-risk other prospects, are currently being evaluated. The offshore gas encounter is the first in the country’s history and was discovered after drilling 1,440 metres from seabed.

They intended to drill 1,600m when the exercise started a month and half ago in mid-September.

The Ministry of Energy and Minerals, Acting Commissioner for Energy and Petroleum Affairs, Mr Prosper Victus, said the well has “successfully encountered a natural gas” column of nearly 60m between 2,625m.

“There are possibilities that the discovery might hold the biggest gas deposits than Songo Songo (discovered in 2004),” Mr Victus said, adding; “We are waiting for studies to tell us its commercial viability.”

Songo Songo gas reserves are estimated at two-trillion cubic feet. “The discovery of the gas in the Pweza-1 marks the beginning of an intensive exploration drilling campaign in Tanzania,” Mr Victus said. The well is located approximately 85km from the coastline in 1,400m of water.

In this project Ophir of Australia are partnering with British Gas (BG) with the latter holding a 60 per cent interest. Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) has the back-in options should the exploration become commercially viable.

The partners have been exploring for hydrocarbons in the area since 2006 through acquisition, processing and interpretation of seismic data both two and three dimension. Ophir’s Managing Director, Dr Alan Stein, said this is the first deepwater well drilled in Tanzania.

It has the potential to de-risk additional prospects and leads within the basin, providing a solid platform for further investment.

“The joint venture has already negotiated a comprehensive series of agreements with the Government which provide a mechanism for the commercialization of offshore gas reserves,” Dr Stein said in press release posted on the company’s website.

TPDC Managing Director, Mr Yonna Killagane said under the country’s regulations on oil and gas shareholding structure the government will own about 60 per cent of the stake.

However, “investors have to recover their investments under a set margin, once the project is operational,” Mr Killagane said, “but the government will get its share of interest from day one.”

TPDC’s Director of Exploration, Production and Technical Services, Mr Halfani Halfani, said the discovery will bring the number of gas fields to five and increase the national gas output capacity.

“Songo Songo and Mnazi Bay fields have the output capacity of four-trillion cubic feet, while Mkuranga and Mandawa we are yet to establish exact figure but combined have 1.5 trillion cf,” Mr Halfani said.

Dr Stein said a further two wells will be drilled before the end of the year and Ophir look forward to acquiring more 3D seismic data early next year.

The Ophir/BG group joint venture has interests in Blocks 1, 3 and 4 offshore Tanzania which cover more than 27,000sq km of the Mafia Offshore Basin and northern portion of the Ruvuma Basin, in water depths ranging from approximately 100m to over 3,000m.

The total cost of exploration of liquefied natural gas project is estimated at between seven and 10 billion US doll

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4th November 2010

Zambia-Tanzania- Kenya interconnectivity project.

A 1,000 MW power line earmarked for construction in a move to link up the continental power infrastructure will enable Tanzania to start trading in electricity by 2013, it has been revealed.

The programme, which will connect the only missing link in the Cape to Cairo power line to involve massive investment and infrastructure development, is already underway.

Revealing this recently, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Minerals and Energy David Jairo said the government wants Tanzania to become the hub of power in east and southern Africa region by making use of the various power source opportunities endowed to the country.

“We want within these few years to do away with power shedding which most people have come to think that it is becoming a permanent problem,” said Jairo.

He said already the region was carrying massive investments in power infrastructure in the three country project going under the name of ‘Zambia-Tanzania- Kenya interconnectivity project.

“Ours is a tripartite agreement. We agreed with Zambia early this year in Lusaka that we need to establish a project management for us to mobilise finance resources. And in our agreement Tanzania will provide the first manager of the project aiming that by 2013 the project has to be complete,” said the PS.

He said there were so many companies in the project, but some from England doubted to invest because of the UK stand in Kenya’s affairs.

“So we as Tanzanians have decided to source out companies from various countries and we have discovered that so many firms from Asia, Europe and other parts of the globe are willing to invest in the project,” he said.

“We are mobilising financial resources as a country to fulfil this project.”

Jairo said already the government has started to put a 200KV line, direct current from Bengulo (Zambia) - via Mbeya to Iringa Region in Tanzania.

He said the other 400KV line will start from Iringa to Shinyanga and another 400KV line will be built from Singida via Arusha to Nairobi.

“So we have Nordic countries doing the feasibility study on the project…there are many companies that want to work on the project,” he said.

He said after the infrastructure is in place, the government expects to produce about 700MW from three non hydro projects and 579MW from hydro.

“If we do this we shall become active members of Southern African Power Pool where we shall be able to sell and buy power easily. Currently we are dormant members because we do not produce much. We cannot buy and sell,” he said.

He insisted that the nation now wants to trade in power.

“We shall generate enough power and create conducive environment for the investors in other sectors as well,” he said.

Jairo said the situation has not been very positive to investors who are always complaining of power cuts.

“That problem will end soon when this investment is complete,” he noted.

Last Thursday the government said the missing regional power interconnectivity between Tanzania and Zambia will soon be put in place, adding that several projects were underway to build power pylons from Mbeya City to Nairobi.

On the same day Reuters quoted a top Southern African Development Community (SADC) official as saying in Nairobi that a link for two power pools in east and southern Africa would be operational by 2012, helping to stabilise output regionally and cutting prices.

Frequent power outages and a dilapidated transport infrastructure are curbing economic growth across much of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Joao Cahalo, deputy executive secretary of SADC was quoted saying a power pool was already in place in southern Africa and east Africa's economies had also hooked up their grids to one another.

"Tanzania-Zambia is the gap that is the missing link. The studies are on, consultants are working on that so we hope by next year, or the year after, that link will be operational. The year 2012 is probably more realistic," Cahalo told reporters at a regional infrastructure investment conference in Nairobi.

Cahalo said connecting the two power pools in southern and eastern Africa would ensure a power deficit in one area could be supported by excess capacity in another area.

It was too early to project how much the link between Tanzania and Zambia would cost, he added.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

[tanzan]

4th November 2010

A 1,000 MW power line earmarked for construction in a move to link up the continental power infrastructure will enable Tanzania to start trading in electricity by 2013, it has been revealed.

The programme, which will connect the only missing link in the Cape to Cairo power line to involve massive investment and infrastructure development, is already underway.

Revealing this recently, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Minerals and Energy David Jairo said the government wants Tanzania to become the hub of power in east and southern Africa region by making use of the various power source opportunities endowed to the country.

“We want within these few years to do away with power shedding which most people have come to think that it is becoming a permanent problem,” said Jairo.

He said already the region was carrying massive investments in power infrastructure in the three country project going under the name of ‘Zambia-Tanzania- Kenya interconnectivity project.

“Ours is a tripartite agreement. We agreed with Zambia early this year in Lusaka that we need to establish a project management for us to mobilise finance resources. And in our agreement Tanzania will provide the first manager of the project aiming that by 2013 the project has to be complete,” said the PS.

He said there were so many companies in the project, but some from England doubted to invest because of the UK stand in Kenya’s affairs.

“So we as Tanzanians have decided to source out companies from various countries and we have discovered that so many firms from Asia, Europe and other parts of the globe are willing to invest in the project,” he said.

“We are mobilising financial resources as a country to fulfil this project.”

Jairo said already the government has started to put a 200KV line, direct current from Bengulo (Zambia) - via Mbeya to Iringa Region in Tanzania.

He said the other 400KV line will start from Iringa to Shinyanga and another 400KV line will be built from Singida via Arusha to Nairobi.

“So we have Nordic countries doing the feasibility study on the project…there are many companies that want to work on the project,” he said.

He said after the infrastructure is in place, the government expects to produce about 700MW from three non hydro projects and 579MW from hydro.

“If we do this we shall become active members of Southern African Power Pool where we shall be able to sell and buy power easily. Currently we are dormant members because we do not produce much. We cannot buy and sell,” he said.

He insisted that the nation now wants to trade in power.

“We shall generate enough power and create conducive environment for the investors in other sectors as well,” he said.

Jairo said the situation has not been very positive to investors who are always complaining of power cuts.

“That problem will end soon when this investment is complete,” he noted.

Last Thursday the government said the missing regional power interconnectivity between Tanzania and Zambia will soon be put in place, adding that several projects were underway to build power pylons from Mbeya City to Nairobi.

On the same day Reuters quoted a top Southern African Development Community (SADC) official as saying in Nairobi that a link for two power pools in east and southern Africa would be operational by 2012, helping to stabilise output regionally and cutting prices.

Frequent power outages and a dilapidated transport infrastructure are curbing economic growth across much of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Joao Cahalo, deputy executive secretary of SADC was quoted saying a power pool was already in place in southern Africa and east Africa's economies had also hooked up their grids to one another.

"Tanzania-Zambia is the gap that is the missing link. The studies are on, consultants are working on that so we hope by next year, or the year after, that link will be operational. The year 2012 is probably more realistic," Cahalo told reporters at a regional infrastructure investment conference in Nairobi.

Cahalo said connecting the two power pools in southern and eastern Africa would ensure a power deficit in one area could be supported by excess capacity in another area.

It was too early to project how much the link between Tanzania and Zambia would cost, he added.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

[popa1980]

Africa is slowly getting over its power issues. The next thing is to sort out 2) poor roads and 3) clogged ports. These are the 3 main infrastructure categories that make doing business in Africa so expensive.

[tanzan]

More uranium recovered at Mkuju
By DAILY NEWS Reporter, 27th October 2010

TANZANIA'S quest to join the world’s elite club of uranium producers has got a new boost after a discovery of more minerals at Mkuju River project in Namtumbo District, Ruvuma Region.

This follows a definitive feasibility study (DFS) on the project which has established that the planned processing plant would be able to recover 82 per cent of the available uranium compared to the previous projection of 79 per cent.

Mantra Resources Limited which is undertaking the project said in a statement issued in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday that the latest study has shown that these improvements are expected to result in a reduction in operating costs.

The statement which was issued in Perth, Australia by the CEO of the parent company, Mr Peter Breese and availed to this paper said the improved recovery was good news for both the investors and the country.

“We are pleased to publish the final DFS process flowsheet which demonstrates that the project is on the right track and the leach characteristics are exceptionally good”, he said.

He said that compared to the pre-feasibility study, the final outcome is highly simplified and has led into maximum recovery of uranium and production during the first phase”, he said.

“Not only that but the final study has also reduced acid consumption from 12 to between six and ten kilogrammes per tonne of plant feed”, he said.

He said that total target production has risen to 4 million pounds of uranium per year, up from 3.7 million which was earlier projected.

“The outcome of the final study follows both extensive, intergrated pilot project which incorporated the previous research work”, he said. In Dar es Salaam, the company’s Managing Director, Mr Tony Devlin, said that the final outcome will be a big boost on the Tanzanian economy.

“We expect uranium to be significant contributor to the Tanzanian economy and position the Country as the third largest producer of Uranium in Africa and the eighth largest producer in the world. At this level of production Tanzania will produce three times more uranium oxide than South Africa”, he said.

He mentioned some of the benefits to the country as foreign direct investment (FDI) of 298 million US dollars (about 452bn/-), over 1,200 jobs would be created during the construction of the mine and a further 600 permanent jobs.

“The project is shaping up as a truly world-class investment and has the potential, in its first phase of its development, to position the United Republic of Tanzania as a major uranium producer on the world map”, he said.

Other benefits include a generation of approximately 220 million US dollars in foreign exchange per year

[The Rev Paul Whicker]

LONDON (SHARECAST) - Shares in Dominion Petroleum jumped after the oil group said it had completed a seismic survey at Block 7 in deep-water area of Tanzania.

‘We are extremely excited by what we already know about Block 7 and early results from the 3D support the drilling of Block 7, perhaps next year depending on rig availability,’ the company said.

http://www.sharecast.com/cgi-bin/sha...ory_id=3818170

Dominion Petroleum (LONPL) (DPL, 3.48p, ▼ (3.33%)) announced that the 3D seismic survey that was recently conducted on Block 7, deep-water Tanzania, has now been completed. The data was acquired by Fugro Geoteam AS, using the seismic vessel the GeoBarents. The survey was conducted over a total area of 1,236km2 covering the Alpha, Beta and 3 other prospects. A recent competent persons report (CPR) prepared by Energy Resource Consultants Ltd on the Alpha prospect confirmed a mean prospective resource of 1.1Bbbl as the oil case and 7Tcf as the gas case. The data will now be processed by CGG Veritas. This should be complete by Q2 2011 and a "Fast Track" processed volume will be ready later this week. The long offset, 7km streamer, data will support amplitude variations with offset ("AVO") studies, these studies on the existing 2D data have helped de-risk Alpha and Beta already. The final results of the 3D and subsequent analyses will help the Company re-assess volumes and improve chances of success not only for the Alpha prospect but for all prospects mapped within, and immediately adjacent to, the survey area. Dominion also notes that last month the first deep-water discovery in Tanzania, the Pweza-1 well, was drilled south of Block 7 and has proven a working hydrocarbon system in the deep-water of Tanzania. This first discovery confirms Dominion's belief that offshore Tanzania is highly prospective and provides further confidence in its exploration efforts on Block 7. In the Lake Edward Basin Dominion and its partners plan to acquire the first ever cross-border 2D seismic between the DRC and Uganda for early in 2011, in excess of 300km. A contract will be awarded to the preferred contractor before year's end and the survey could start as early as January, lasting 3-4 months. Dominion obtained valuable geological data from the Ngaji-1 well in Block 4B well and confirmed the presence of excellent quality reservoir sands as well as hints of source potential. These data justify continued exploration in the basin as a whole in both of the countries it straddles. The Kianika-1 well on the Mandawa PSA continues to drill ahead and is expected to reach its planned depth of 2900m before the end of November. The well is operated by Dominion's partner Les Establissment Maurel et Prom (M&P). Further details will be forthcoming as the well progresses.

http://www.stockopedia.co.uk/content...oil-plc-50334/

Rev

[bayviews]

Tanzania has been on the sidelines of Africa's economic uptick for many years.

Corruption & the paucity of decent of infrastructure has held Tanzania back.

However, its looks likes Tanzania is finally poised to take off over the next decade!

[tanzan]

THE Kariakoo Market Corporation (KCM) is looking for a suitable investor to construct a 12bn/- modern shopping centre as an extension to the current main complex built in early 1970s.

“The proposed shopping centre will have 30 storeys, housing wholesale and retail outlets, department stores, super markets, offices and provisions for financial institutions,” the KMC Managing Director, Mr Florence Seiya, told the Business Standard.

Mr Seiya said in an interview over the weekend that the construction of the facility was scheduled to be completed within 18 months. He said that the corporation has already approached several potential investors on the proposed projects and the response was positive in principle.

“We have talked twice with a Chinese investors, but we are yet to reach the conclusion,” he said. The new structure will be located near a smaller market adjacent to the current main market.

The building will have to be demolished to pave way for the modern multi-storey structure.

‘’We would prefer a local investor, but so far no one has shown interest. May be this is not the appropriate time because the general elections are around the corner,” he noted.

Kariakoo, which its history is traced to the First World War, is currently recording over 55,000 wholesale and retail customers daily. The market offers a wide range of items including cereals, household supplies, fruit and vegetables.

Mr Seiya said the new building would have a parking facilities capable of accommodating up to 1,000 vehicles at a time. The KMC chief said the corporation has drawn up several plans to boost its capital including listing on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE).

‘’The Treasury is still conducting evaluating our assets,’’ Mr Seiya said, pointing out that: ‘’At the moment no one knows the real value of the market.’’ The Treasury has 49 per
cent stake in the market, while the rest is owned by the Dar es Salaam City Council (DCC).

He said the corporation was at present struggling to clean-up its books prior to the listing process that would involve clearance of the Capital and Security Markets Authority (CMSA) and other regulatory bodies.

KMC is also seeking investors to develop markets at Tabata, Mbezi and Pugu areas in a move aimed at decongesting the Kariakoo Market in the city centre.

‘’There is no point for a shopper to travel all the way from Pugu to buy a few items at Kariakoo. We want to reach the people out there,” he said.

[èđđeůx]

wow, 30 stories? Impressive. I am thinking if it goes through it'll be the largest shopping centre in Tanzania, and potentially East Africa?

[tanzan]

Lets hope it goes through.