Tanzania Natural Gas Reaches Households

The Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) launched in July 2014 a project to bring the natural gas discovered off the coast of Tanzania to consumers and residents in the commercial capital of Dar es Salaam. The pilot project has currently connected nearly 60 families to the pipeline in the Mikocheni suburb of Dar es Salaam with plans in place to lay pipelines along the city’s main roads in a joint venture between the TPDC and private investors. According to a Deutsche Welle report, Michael Mwanda, chairman of the TPDC board of directors, believes that the project will result in an increased supply of cheap gas to domestic customers throughout the city. “This is the first natural gas distribution infrastructure project under TPDC,” he said, “We hope more people will switch to using natural gas instead of charcoal and other energy sources that have proved to be bad for the environment.” According to James Andilile, the TPDC acting General Manager, corporation has sought the required USD 8 million required to complete the project from Exim Bank of India. Tanzania natural gas reserves currently total more than 50.5 trillion cubic feet and, with a population of more than 4 million people, Dar es Salaam requires a substantial amount of energy in order to maintain sustainable growth.