Tanzania Choosing Investors For Coal Project, 400 MW Pwr Plant
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
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
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