In line with its Light up and power Africa initiative, the African Development Bank is expanding access to reliable and affordable electricity with funding support for the construction of the Zuzu substation in Dodoma, connecting 121 villages to the power supply in the capital city.
"On behalf of the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, I would like to extend a very hearty vote of thanks to the African Development Bank, our Bank of choice, for supporting the Government's efforts in bridging the country's infrastructure gap," the Minister of Finance and Planning, Philip Mpango, said during Bank President Akinwumi Adesina's visit to the substation.
The Bank provided US $64.855 million to finance part of the country's Backbone Transmission Investment Project, which included the construction of 670-kilometre Iringa-Dodoma-Singida-Shinyanga transmission line and four extended 220-kV substations.
"Our objective was to provide adequate transmission infrastructure to link existing and future generation sources located in south and southwest Tanzania to the load centres in Mwanza and Arusha regions in the north," the Minister explained.
The construction of the Zuzu substation in Dodoma, which is the core of the Iringa-Shinyanga backbone transmission line, connects 121 villages to electricity and significantly improves and stabilizes access to electricity in Tanzania.
Since 1971, the African Development Bank has invested over US $200 million in Tanzania's power sector and helped connect more than 130,000 customers and over 18,000 businesses, and small and medium enterprises to electricity.
According to Subira Mgalu, the country's Deputy Minister for Energy, the Bank has also shown an interest in financing other energy projects in generation, transmission and distribution, and the development of geothermal resources in Tanzania.
"The Government's target is to have at least a 10,000-MW generation capacity in 2025," said Mgalu. "It is our greatest hope that the Bank will continue to be a leading development partner and offer the needed support to Tanzania to help make this a reality."
