President Amani Abeid Karume has urged residents of Pemba island to prepare themselves to fully exploit economic opportunities that will result from the archipelago's connection to reliable power.

Likewise, he invited investors from the country and abroad, to go and invest in Pemba as power would not be a problem for them.

For years Pemba has been relying on generators for power generation, and power cuts on the island have been common because of defective generators or shortage of fuel to run them.

He said the long time dream that Pemba would also get reliable power supply is about to be realised and it was time investors also started to look at Pemba from another perspective.

"Availability of reliable power after this project is completed is a big step in development strides as people will have more opportunities," he said.

He explained that the project was a result of efforts taken by his government to ensure that economic opportunities were availed to as many people as possible.

President Karume made the remarks when briefing reporters at the Tanga State Lodge after returning from a special ship with staff and equipment for undertaking the responsibility, NEXANS SKAGERRAK, from Norway.

He said coupled with the recent political reconciliation, the project would go a long way towards boosting Zanzibar's economic development endeavours.

He congratulated Norway for its cooperation which has made the project possible. He said Norway's participation has clearly shown that the country has Zanzibaris' interests at heart.

Norway has provided $71 million (about Sh94.4 billion) for implementation of the project. The Zanzibar government has contributed $10 million (about Sh13.3 billion) and the Union government $5 million.

The work to lay the cable weighing 4,500 tonnes has been scheduled to start on December 9. A Norwegian firm, NEXANS, has been contracted to undertake the work.

President Karume was accompanied by various leader, including the official leader of opposition in the House of Representatives, Mr Abubakar Khamis Bakary, and national league for Democracy (NLD) secretary general, Mr Rashid Ahmeid.