Tanzania: Area to Use Underground Power Cables

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The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)

9 October 2008
Posted to the web 9 October 2008

Zephania Ubwani
Arusha

Cables to supply electricity to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) will be laid underground.

NCA Authority (NCAA) experts have objected to the distribution of power in the area using the electricity poles and overhead cables as is the case elsewhere.

The Arusha regional Tanesco manager, Mr Boniface Njombe said the project to supply power to Ngorongoro will kick off soon.

"Tenders have been announced and it is the NCAA which will supervise the project," he said in an interview, without saying how much the project would cost.

He said NCAA officials have objected to the use of power poles in the area because they would have an adverse impact on the ecology and disturb animals.

He added that electricity to NCA would be supplied to the NCAA head offices on the rim of the famous crater, tourist lodges and a few settlements.

The 8,272 square kilometre NCA was established in 1959 as a multi-purpose land area for conservation, tourism and pastoralism.

Only minimum agriculture is allowed and no more immigrants are allowed to settle permanently in the area which currently has 60,000 people.

However, the NCAA power from the national electricity grid would not extend to Loliondo, the Ngorongoro district headquarters, about 200 km from the crater.

According to Mr Njombe, Tanesco would purchase a large diesel generator to supply power to Loliondo township.

He said Loliondo is one of the few district headquarters without electricity and among those earmarked for electrification.

The official explained that the Namanga border town will be supplied with power from the Kenya national power grid in a few months.

Electricity from the neighbouring country would be extended to Longido district headquarters as well as some villages and training institutions close to the two towns.

Visiting the area early last year, President Jakaya Kikwete said it was cheaper for Namanga and Longido to be supplied with electricity from Kenya than from Arusha, some 120 km away.

The town is the main border post between Tanzania and Kenya. It generates a lot of Government revenue in custom duties for imports and other forms of taxation on businesses springing up there.

Until last year it was estimated that the Government would spend Sh700 million to connect Namanga and Longido with electricity from Kenya.

The Kenya side of Namanga is already getting power from that country's national grid.

Several regions and districts in Tanzania Mainland are supplied with electricity from neighbouring countries because of high connection costs to the national grid.

These include Kagera region which gets power from Uganda, Rukwa region from Mbala town in Zambia and Tunduma also from Zambia.

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