Wind Energy

Chinese Bank Agrees to Wind Energy Deal in Tanzania

The EXIM Bank of Beijing, China, has agreed to fund a project in which wind would be used to generate electricity in Singida Region, deputy minister for Industry, Trade and Marketing Lazaro Nyalandu has said.

The deputy minister who was speaking at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) upon arrival from China yesterday, said in the discussions, the president of the EXIM Bank Beijing, Mr Wang Fade, principally agreed to fund the construction of a 50 MW wind power generation plant in Singida Region.

"The EXIM Beijing president has agreed to finance the wind farm generation in Singida pending completion of the final procedures between the government, the national development corporation and the Chinese ambassador to Tanzania," Mr Nyalandu said.Mr Nyalandu who spent nine days in China told reporters that it was estimated that more than Sh150 billion would be spent on implementation of the project.

He toured China to assess the financial, technological and management ability of Dalian International Economic and Technological Cooperation Group Co Ltd (CDIG), which has won a tender to implement the Singida wind power generation project.Mr Nyalandu said that after a tour of almost every CDIG department, his delegation was satisfied that CDIG has everything that is needed for the implementation of the multi-billion project.

He added that during his tour of China he visited state-owned Hydrochina Engineering Cooperation (Khidi), which mainly conducts research on various alternative energy sources, notably renewable energy.The deputy minister said Khidi has agreed to collaborate with the Tanzanian government to build a research and development centre in one of the universities in the country to enable the country tap into research knowledge on renewable energy.

"To start with, Khidi has agreed to sponsor different experts as well as Tanzania masters degree students who wish to pursue further studies in the specific sectors in Chinese universities," he said.

Meanwhile, a delegation from EXIM Bank Beijing is due to arrive in the country next month. Mr Nyalandu said while in the country the delegation would hold talks with Bank of Tanzania (BoT) and Tanzania Investment Bank (TIB), with a view to finding how they could be involved in financing different development projects in the country.

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