Irish company brings electricity to rural Tanzania

[EMT]

Tanzania has a very low penetration of electricity, with less than 15% of the population connected to the national grid. Many of the country's residents and businesses depend on non-grid connected small-scale diesel generators for their electricity needs. ESBI is acting as consultant engineer and construction contract supervisor for a number of energy infrastructure projects that will improve the supply of electricity to homes and businesses across Tanzania and Zanzibar. Irish energy company ESB International (ESBI) is working on an electrification scheme that will bring electricity for the first time to rural homes in Tanzania.

The scheme is funded by the US Millennium Challenge Account - Tanzania (MCA-T) Energy Project under a four-year contract valued at $20 million. A key objective of the project is to bring electricity to remote rural areas of the country. Other projects include Projects include the construction of a submarine cable from mainland Tanzania to Zanzibar Island, a new hydro power station and a capacity building programme for staff from the two local utilities, Tanesco (Tanzania) and ZECO (Zanzibar).

ESBI has a long association with Tanzania dating back to 1977 when it was appointed by the World Bank and the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs to deliver a training programme to staff in Tanesco, the local utility. Since then, it has been involved in a number of commercial and charitable initiatives in the country. The Tánaiste (Irish Deputy Prime Minister) and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Eamon Gilmore T.D. visited the project site earlier this month.

Irish company brings electricity to rural Tanzania

 

[pat john]

Most people term electricity as a catalyst to development. It's like yeast and wheat flour to produce bread. You can never develop as long as you don't have a well define programme to generate and distribute electricity. Unfortunately in our country electricity has turned out to be a playing ground for corrupt politicians and other public servants. Let's appriciate useful endeavors to develop the energy sector for both rural and urban.