Energy minister January Makamba (second left) speaks during a meeting with Shell’s executive vice president (LNG) Cederic Cremers (right) in the Netherlands. From left is an official from Tanzania’s Embassy in the Netherlands Benedict Msuya, Power Commissioner from the Energy ministry Innocent Luoga and also an official from the Tanzania’s Embassy in the Netherlands Noel Kipuyo. PHOTO | COURTESY
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project got a new boost yesterday when Energy minister January Makamba met and held talks with top executives from Shell in the Netherlands.
Mr Makamba had been in the Netherlands to represent President Samia Suluhu Hassan at a meeting in Rotterdam where African leaders discussed ways of sourcing funds to assist in climate change adaptation.
The minister told Shell’s executive vice president (LNG) Cederic Cremers and vice president (Government Relations) John Crocker that Tanzania was taking the LNG project very seriously.
Mr Makamba promised that pending issues in the ongoing Host Government Agreement (HGA) between the government on the one side, Shell and Norway’s Equinor on the other will be completed by December, this year.
“This would pave the way for actual implementation of the project to start almost immediately,” the minister said in a statement that was availed to The Citizen in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
He told the two Shell officials that by November this year, President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s government would also establish a special window to supervise the implementation of the LNG Project.
“The office will be responsible for coordination and expediting the project implementation,” the statement reads.
According to the minister, the project offers numerous economic benefits for Tanzania and will open up opportunities for residents of the Southern Regions in particular.
“The project will increase the country’s revenue, create employment opportunities and bring about economic and social revolution in the country,” he said.
The project will involve the construction and processing of more than 47 trillion cubic feet out of the 57.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas discovered in the Indian Ocean in the Southern Regions.
The government has already paid at least 642 residents of their compensation totalling Sh5.71 billion for the project’s construction site in Likong’o, Mtomkavu and Masasiyaleo villages in Lindi Region.
In his remarks, Mr Crocker acknowledged President Hassan’s administration for reviving investors’ hope in as far as the implementation of the LNG project is concerned.
In June this year, President Hassan gave a priority to the project by facilitating the signing of an initial HGA between Tanzania and the two multinational companies.
Also read on: ‘Let locals own 2.5 percent shares in LNG project’ -ACT
“We are very much satisfied with the stage of the discussions in the preparation for the implementation of the LNG project in Lindi Region,” Mr Crocker said.
He insisted on their desire and that of their partners to implement the project.
No comments :
Post a Comment