Gas route: Tanzania favours Mwanza

CHANCES of extending the gas pipeline from Dar es Salaam Mombasa look very slim after realisation by the Tanzania government that it would be more beneficial to construct a pipeline to the Lake Zone area through the Central Corridor.
According to senior government officials who are privy to the process, the Government wants to have the pipeline  through Dodoma, Singida and other regions to run up to Mwanza built before any plans to extend it to Mombasa are taken on board.
"Local experts have convinced the government that it would be
more advantageous to have the gas pipeline built through the Central Corridor than one that runs from Dar es Salaam through Tanga to Mombasa," said one of the officials who attended last months Sectoral Council on Energy meeting.
The official further said that even though the study for Dar es Salaam-Tanga-Mombasa pipeline was done whereby it showed the project was viable "the study noted that Dar es Salaam, from where Mombasa was to be connected, was having gas constraints but they still recommended the project was economically justified."
"However, if you look at the other side of the coin and taking into consideration what the Sectoral Council of Ministers said, last month that Tanzania should make sure and take into consideration the needs of partners states, it goes without saying that having a pipeline that goes all the way to Mwanza would serve the region much better than one that passes through Tanga to Mombasa," said the official.
The official further said that: "If you look at Mwanza, it easily connects with all the regional hubs in the Partner states, so having it pass through the central corridor will serve the local needs as well as those of the region."
They wondered why the study that was undertaken with blessings of the EAC would want the gas taken to Mombasa, which is a coastal town, then from there distributed to other EA countries.
They further contend that the benefits to the Tanzanian economy would be immense because it would be easy to put up industries along the central corridor where the pipeline would pass.
"Our country has been experiencing and having perennial electricity problems, as is the case currently but, this would be mitigated by having the pipeline due to the fact that power generation would be done in regional centres thus reducing the burden of transmitting electricity from Dar Salaam and Morogoro, all the way to Mwanza," one official argued. A total of 497 kilometres of pipeline is to be laid once the right contractor is found and the government through the Tanzania Petroleum Development Company (TPDC) now wants to carry out an environmental and social impact assessment for the proposed Mtwara-Dar es Salaam natural gas pipeline.
According to the TPDC managing Director, Mr. Yona Killaghane the scope of the service would include identifying and analysing all the relevant stakeholders in the project including -but not limited to-government relevant ministries, departments, landowners and all neighbours; north, south, east and west) and communities and all other relevant stakeholders.
"There are two projects one is to carry out a land survey and lay a pipeline from Mtwara to Somangafungu and another pipeline from Mtwara to Dar es Salaam bringing the total to be constructed to 497 kms," said Mr. Killaghane.
However, the projects would be undertaken in two lots one for environmental and social impact assessment for the proposed Mtwara-Dar natural gas pipeline and a survey for pipeline route from Mnazi Bay Mtwara to Somangafungu.