A gas pipeline which will run from Mtwara to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania is reported to be on schedule for completion in December 2014
Eliakim Maswi, permanent secretary of the Tanzanian Ministry of Energy and Minerals, embarked on a three-day tour along the 542km pipeline’s route, alongside representatives of development partners, including the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), according to Tanzania Daily News.
Felchesmi Mramba, managing director of state-owned Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO), said, “At present, natural gas accounts for between 40-45 per cent of power generation in the country, but the rate will increase to about 80 per cent when the projects are completed.”
With the help of a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China, the pipeline project, which is being managed by WorleyParsons South Africa, will also include construction of gas processing plants at Madimba in Mtwara and Songo Songo Island in Lindi.
According to Maswi, the pipeline will have a capacity of 780mn standard cubic feet (mscf) per day, while the processing plant at Madimba will have a 200 mscf per day capacity, with provisions which would allow it to be upgraded to 600 mscf per day if necessary.
The new pipeline will include a 512km pipeline on land as well as a 30km concrete-coated pipe which will run through the Indian Ocean from Songo Songo Island to Somanga area in Lindi region, Maswi said.
WorleyParsons South Africa project quality manager Pieter Erasmus added, “As we speak, 142km-long pipes have been joined through welding and we expect to finish laying the pipeline by July next year.”
