06 January 2015, Dar es Salaam – MORE than 60 vehicles and 70 houses are now using natural gas while 300 MW electricity is being generated from natural gas.
The Acting Manager of Gas Supply Company (GASCO), which is under TPDC, Mr Kapuulya Musomba, said this in Dar es Salaam yesterday when giving a report on the implementation of the project from Madiba-Mtwara, Songosongo-Lindi and Coast to Dar es Salaam.
The more than 500-kilometre pipeline project from Mtwara to Dar es Salaam launched in 2012 will have the capacity to transport 784 cubic feet of gas per day, which will generate 3,920 MW of electricity.
The country’s current demand is 720 MW per day. By generating 3,920 MW through domestic gas reserves, the country would have a surplus of more than 3,000 MW.
The project’s cost is Tsh1.86 trillion (USD1.2 billion) and is funded by a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China. The construction plan involves building a 36-inch pipeline for 487 kilometres and a 24-inch pipeline for 24 kilometres, connecting the mainland to the gas source on Somanga Fungu, a small island in the Indian Ocean.
Meanwhile, more than 90 per cent of the work on the construction of the Mtwara to Dar es Salaam pipeline has been completed, costing 1.225bn/- so far.
“When the pipeline is completed, it will greatly reduce the costs of generating electricity incurred by government for turbines that use fuel to general electricity,” Mr Musomba explained.
He said the project is funded by a loan and already the contractor has received 81 per cent down payment for the construction of the pipeline.
Acting TPDC Managing Director James Andilile said the gas pipeline project will be handed over in June and will start transporting natural gas in different areas.
He noted, however, that the main hurdle will be the urban planning of the city. “Construction of centres to receive the natural gas in Mtwara, Somanga Fungu, Kilwa, Kinyerezi and Tegeta in Dar es Salaam will be completed at the end of this month,” he said.
On domestic distribution, TPDC is working with the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) and the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) to ensure the success of the exercise.
On his part, TPDC Board Chairman, Mr Michael Mwande, said completion of the gas pipeline would add impetus to the distribution of gas in villages and other rural areas.
*Tanzania Daily News