The Tanzanian government is in the process of selecting
investors to develop its Mchuchuma coal project and build a 400
megawatt power plant, the state-run National Development Corp. said
Thursday.
In a statement, NDC said a 200-kilometer high voltage power
lines would also be constructed linking Mchuchuma, in the south
western region, with the national grid.
Tanzania is in the process of connecting its vast gold mines
located around Lake Victoria to the national grid.
Up to 48 foreign and local companies have expressed interest to
develop the Mchuchuma project, which has up to 125.3 million metric
tons of coal deposits, and the winner will be announced before the
end of the third quarter.
According to the Ministry of Energy and Minerals Development the
companies that have expressed an interest include Singapore-based
Nava Bharat, which won a bid to acquire Zambia's largest coal mine
Maamba Collieries early this year. Others include diversified
miners BHP Billiton PLC (BHP.LN) and Rio Tinto PLC (RTP),
Australia-based Western Metals Corp. (WTLC), India's Tata Steel Co.
(500470.BY) and China's CAMC Engineering.
Development of the Mchuchuma coal project is expected to cost up
to $660 million and a power plant would be completed three to four
years after the start of construction work.
Analysts say Tanzania needs more power plants to meet rising
demand occasioned by massive investment in the gold mining sector
since the start of the decade. Most gold mines still rely on
fuel-fired plants to run operations because they aren't connected
to the national grid.
Tanzania is Africa's third largest gold producer.
-By Nicholas Bariyo, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; +256
75 262 4615; bariyonic@yahoo.co.uk