The Mbeya power plant will be part of the Mbeya Coal to Power Project (MCPP) which is being developed in the south west region of Tanzania.
Kibo Mining, in a statement, said: “The power line construction contract is the second lot of the EPC contractual work as outlined in the announcement dated 29 August 2017.
“Kibo has a longstanding relationship with Chinese company Sepco III for the development of the Mbeya Coal to Power Plant that is of key strategic importance in reducing Tanzania’s critical power deficit.”
MCPP will see development of a coal mine and also a mine-mouth power station. The coal to power project is expected to address the acute energy shortage while also meeting the anticipated demand for electricity in the future for Tanzania.
Tanzania, which needs 2,000MW of power, has an inadequate supply of power generation at under 1,000MW, according to TANESCO’s website.
In February, Kibo Mining signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with TANESCO to supply power generated from MCPP to the state-owned electric utility. It also selected Sepco III then to execute the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) part of the project.
Kibo Mining, then, said that it expects to complete funding arrangements for the construction and commissioning of MCPP during the second half of this year, after which the company estimates first electricity to be transmitted to the grid in 36 months.
Last month, Kibo Mining completed acquisition of a stake of 85% in the Mabesekwa Coal Independent Power Project in Botswana from Sechaba Natural Resources. The Mabesekwa project is a 600MW integrated mine and power station which is being developed to supply power to South Africa.
