World Bank grants $200m for Tanzania rural electrification program
Construction of transmission lines, northern Tanzania (source: flickr/ UK DFID, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
29 Jun 2016
The World Bank has provided a grant of $200 million for the rural electrification program in Tanzania. The funding is to bring electricity to consumers and businesses, but also requires development of more projects that can provide electricity, with geothermal energy being a major element thereof.
With granting $200m for the rural electrification program in Tanzania, the World Bank provides a major boost to the country’s energy market.
The rural electrification program aims to connect 2.5 million households, 25,000 education centers, 25,000 health centers and 150,000 companies over the next five years to the supply of electricity. Small-scale energy projects will also be supported, allowing the installation of 33 MW of additional capacity.
“This program provides Tanzanians not only the opportunity to have access to energy in their homes and in their businesses, but also allows small producers to increase their revenue streams by also investing in the production of energy from renewable, ” said Bella Bird, director of the World Bank office in Tanzania.
The program aims to increase the electrification rate of the country of 36% recorded in 2014 to 50% by 2050 and 75% by the year 2033. It consists of the electrification of people both with the electricity grid national as with off-grid solutions.
But this also means an increasing demand for electricity that needs to be delivered and geothermal is one of the energy sources being developed in Tanzania.
Source: Agence Ecofin
