The government of Tanzania has inked a loan agreement worth $300 million with the African Development Bank as well as the French Development Agency in order to finance one of the hydropower plants in the northwest of the country, as reported by International Water Power.
Tanzania’s Electric Supply Company, Tanesco, is constructing the plant to bring electricity to around 4 million people. The entire exercise is anticipated to enhance economic growth in Tanzania as well as in the neighbouring countries of Rwanda and Burundi.
The scheme is going to involve building a couple of barriers across the Kagera River, notably one concrete-faced rockfill dam, which is about 42 metres high and 1308 metres long, as well as another concrete dam compacted by gravity roller, which would be around 61 metres high and 284 metres long. It is well to be noted that the engineering services are going to be provided by an Italian-based hydro specialist, while a couple of Norwegian consultants have carried out the assessment when it comes to environmental and social impact.
Beside the dam and their generating equipment, the project is going to upgrade a sub-station as well and also add a transmission line with a capacity of 220 kV and 39 km in length.
African Development Bank’s Tanzania manager Patricia Laverley, on the signing cermony in Tanzania said that the project is no wonder going to improve the financial stability of Tanesco and, in addition to that, improve the people’s quality of life across the Kagera region.
France’s ambassador to Tanzania, Nabil Hajlaoui, expressed the readiness of his country to invest in the spectrum of power generation as well as transmission projects in order to meet the fast-growing electricity demand and at the same time reduce the intensity of carbon in the energy mix.