Dodoma: in efforts to support the government's clean cooking energy drive, the Rural Energy Agency (REA) will tomorrow sign a 72.8bn/- contract with the Prisons Department, National Service and four Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) distributors.
Speaking to reporters here yesterday, REA Director of Renewable and Alternative Energy Technologies, Eng Advera Mwijage said the move follows President Samia Suluhu Hassan directive to ensure entities with more than 100 people use clean cooking energy.
Eng Mwijage said the first contract with the Tanzania Prisons Services worth 35.23bn/- will last for three years covering all 126 Mainland prisons in which REA will provide 26.56bn/-.
Under the project, the activities to be implemented include construction of 126 biogas infrastructures and installation of 64 LPG cooking infrastructures.
Also, it will include distribution of 15,920 LPG gas cylinders with capacity of 15kg each to prisons officials and distribution of 865 tonnes of briquettes from State Mining Corporation (STAMICO).
ALSO READ: Hydrogen to boost clean energy drive in Tanzania
Moreover, she said, the prisons contracts will also cater for supply of 16 machines for making briquettes, capacity building and distribution of 977 improved cooking stoves.
Eng Advera said of the improved cooking stoves, 3777 will be using biogas, 256 for LPG and 344 using alternative energies.
The second two-year contract will be signed between the National Service and REA for 22 brigades worth 5.75bn/- in which REA will cover 76 per cent of the total cost.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
The contract will cover construction of nine biogas machines, 291 briquettes stoves, construction of LPG cooking infrastructure and its pots and purchase of 110 tonnes of coal charcoal.
The contract will as well cater for National Service to purchase 60 machines for production of alternative charcoal energy and training for 50,000 youth.
To promote the use of clean cooking energy, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas, REA will allocate 10 billion/- to four distribution companies for the supply of 6kg LPG gas cylinder sets.
The companies which will sign the agreement of LPG gas are Taifa Gas, Manjis, Oryx and Lake Oil in which a total 452,445 cylinders will be distributed at the subsidised prices.
Eng Advera said REA has also set aside 15bn/- for facilitating distribution of 200,000 improved cooking stoves, the contract to that effect will be signed soon.
President Samia has been a pioneer of the clean cooking energy drive whereas the national clean strategy states that by 2034 almost 80 per cent of Tanzania should be use clean energy
