Tanzania building power grid link with Zambia amid drought crisis

Tanzania is building a power grid connection with Zambia to help address Zambia's drought-related power shortages, Tanzania's Deputy Prime Minister Doto Biteko announced at the Singapore International Energy Week.

"We have interconnectors with our neighbours, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, and now we are establishing an interconnector with Zambia, which will help us to assist our neighbour in Zambia who is facing a severe drought," said Biteko, who also holds the energy minister position.

"Tanzania, being a member of the Eastern African Power Pool, has access to a larger market where we can sell electricity to neighbouring countries when we have surplus," he added.

The interconnector project, which began in September, will take three years to complete. This development follows a 2014 agreement between Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia to invest £1.1 billion in connecting their power grids by 2018.

Regarding the $42 billion Tanzania LNG export facility, Biteko said the government is in negotiations with project partners to finalize the host government agreement. The project has faced delays due to proposed changes to last year's financial agreement, with the government seeking to ensure fair benefits for all parties.

The project partners include joint operators Equinor and Shell, along with ExxonMobil, Pavilion Energy, Medco Energi, and Tanzania's national oil company TPDC.