AMID government efforts to phase out charcoal uses countrywide, Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) has come up with plans to supply gas to industrial and residential areas.
TPDC acting Managing Director Engineer
Kapuulya Musomba said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the public utility
envisages supplying Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to the public through
phases.
TPDC, he said, has divided the country
into four zones for studies that will involve mapping to facilitate gas
supply. Dar es Salaam, which consumes a large amount of charcoal will be
given priority, said Engineer Musomba, hinting that should all go as
planned, the study and mapping will begin by the end of this month.
Available data show that Dar es Salaam
alone consumes 500,000 tonnes of charcoal annually, contributing to loss
of 372,000 hectares of forest land countrywide, per year, due to
charcoal production and firewood.
Engineer Musomba said all the activities
that will include mapping and laying of gas pipes to industrial and
residential areas will be implemented through involvement of private
firms under Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
Another area for mapping will take on
board Mtwara and Lindi regions, said the TPDC chief, noting that because
there was a gas pipeline running from the southern area to Dar es
Salaam, conducting study and mapping might be easier.
Coast region, an area that has turned
into and industrialisation drive leader in the country, is also on the
TPDC’s drawing board for CNG supply through pipes.
According to Engineer Musomba, the
decision has already been made to lay the pipeline from Mwandege in
Mkuranga district to facilitate gas supply in the district and nearby
areas, including residential houses.
He further said plans were underway to
lay the gas pipeline along the Dar es Salaam-Bagamoyo road, insisting
that all houses and institutions along the highway to Bagamoyo, will be
reached.
Speaking about plans to reach upcountry
regions, Engineer Musomba said the government expects funding from Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to carry out studies and
mapping in Tanga, Arusha, Dodoma, Mwanza and Mbeya regions.
He said all regions between Dar es Dar
es Salaam and Arusha, Dar es Salaam and Mwanza, Dar es Salaam and Mbeya,
will benefit from the project.
Apart from supplying gas to residents
through gas pipes, TPDC will invite companies and individuals to
distribute the energy to customers in other parts of the country through
other transport means.
The government on Tuesday announced
plans to phase out the use of charcoal in the country, starting with
some of its institutions. Minister of State in VicePresident’s Office,
Union and Environment, January Makamba said the government was also in
the process of drafting a roadmap that will clearly provide guidance on
implementing of the affirmative decision to save the environment.
In drafting the roadmap, the minister
said, the private sector, government institutions, NonGovernmental
Organisations, local government authorities, oil and gas companies and
companies and individuals dealing with alternative methods of charcoal
production will be involved
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