Tanzania demands replacement of electrical project manager
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Tuko
Tanzanian Vice-President Deogratius Ndejembi has demanded the replacement of Kalpataru Projects' site manager on a 220 kV power line. The company was supposed to install 12 pylons a week but is managing only three, according to Tuko, while the line is expected to improve electricity supplies in south-eastern Tanzania.
Tanzanian Vice-President Deogratius Ndejembi has ordered India’s Kalpataru Projects International, the company responsible for building the 220 kV Songea-Tunduru-Masasi power line, to immediately replace its site manager. He also called for additional workers to be brought in to speed up construction, according to Tuko.
Kalpataru had committed to erecting 12 pylons a week but was installing only three, Deogratius Ndejembi noted during a visit to the site. The vice-president recalled that the foundations for the pylons were supposed to be completed in October and said the pace of construction was not meeting the company’s commitments.
The Songea-Tunduru-Masasi line is expected to improve electricity supplies in south-eastern Tanzania, particularly for mining and agricultural activities. Ndejembi asked the Ministry of Energy and the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO), the state-owned electricity utility, to strengthen supervision of the project, according to Tuko.
The demand follows a previous visit by Ndejembi to the project in June, when he was still Minister of Energy. The project is part of efforts to strengthen power lines towards Tunduru, as discussed in a previous article published on 26 October.
