Tanzania lines up new private power projects, IPTL saga drags on

Irish-registered Kibo Mining is in the early stages of planning a 300-350MW mine-mouth plant at the Rukwa coal field in the Mbeya region. Chief executive Louis Coetzee told African Energy the proposed open-cast mine method and on-site development should keep generation costs low, with power then fed into the national grid to help tackle Tanzania’s growing power supply deficit. “It is impossible to deny the business opportunity when power demand is rising by 10-15% a year. Our greatest milestone so far is inclusion in the government’s National Energy Strategy. The government is committed to addressing the power supply deficit and sees [the Rukwa project] as part of the solution,” he said in an interview.