Image: DailyNews
Tanzania’s government has issued an advance payment of $309.65 million to Egypt-based Arab contractors to assist in the construction of the 2,100MW Stiegler’s Gorge hydroelectric project.
According to Tanzania’s Finance and Planning Ministry, the payment is equivalent to 15 percent of the total project cost.
“What is being paid…is 70 percent foreign portion of the advance payment. The local portion (30 percent) will be settled once contractual processes are finalized by the contractor,” Dr Hamis Mwinyimvua, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Energy, noted.
The Minister further stated that the payment will enable the contractor to immediately begin implementation of the works as agreed upon.
The project – which is in the first scaling phase of 11 new mini-grids to bring a non-stop supply of electricity to more than 80,000 people – is estimated to cost $3 billion and will be completed by 2021.
