ARUSHA, Tanzania, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian government on Tuesday unveiled plans to expand its current power generation capacity by 2025 through investment in thermal and renewable energy.
Subira Mgalu, Tanzania's deputy energy minister told parliament in the country's capital Dodoma that the move is part of the government's mission to act on investors' queries over lack of reliable power, which hurts business in the east African nation.
"Implementation of various power generation projects will increase the capacity of our national power grid from 1,602 megawatts (MW) presently to 10,000 megawatts by 2025," Mgalu said.
Tanzania has said it plans to export surplus electricity to energy-starved nations in eastern and southern Africa once it has boosted its generation capacity.
"We need to have abundant and reliable power from an energy mix that includes hydropower, natural gas, solar and wind," Mgalu said, when responding to a question by the Special Seats MP Zainab Katimba.
The minister named some of the projects to increase power production as the expansion of the Kinyerezi I natural gas power plant from 150 MW to 335 MW whose implementation is expected to be done by August, this year.
Other projects include the KInyerezi II 240 MW which had been completed in April last year, and Mtwara MW 300 power project under the sponsorship of the Japan International Cooperation Agency which is expected to be done by March next year.
Moreover, she said, December 2018, the government started implementation of the 2,115 MW Rufiji Hydro-Power project as well as 80 MW Rusumo project.
To meet the 10,000 MW targets by 2015, the Deputy Minister said they have inline Kishapu 150 MW, Singida 100 MW windmill and Coal power project of 600 MW.
