By Wonder Msiska Dar es Salaam, Tanzania:
Malawi and Tanzania are set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which will see the two countries sharing energy resources through the Songwe Dam Project and Tanzania-Malawi Interconnector (Tama).
This was disclosed during the opening of a three-day meeting in Dar es Salaam Wednesday.
Tanzania’s Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Energy Felchesmi Mramba said Malawi and Tanzania can work together to produce and share energy resources for the benefit of the two countries.
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“The energy problems faced by Tanzania and Malawi are almost similar and, actually, energy challenges faced by Southern African countries are similar and there is a need for countries to work together to address energy challenges,” he said.
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Co-chair of the meeting acting Director in the Ministry of Energy for Malawi, Joseph Kalowekamo, said Malawi is considering other sources of energy to the Shire River-dependent hydro energy, which caters to about 90 percent of Malawi’s power requirements.
“We are discussing with Tanzania on two fronts; the Songwe project and the Tanzania- Malawi Interconnector as alternative sources to our heavy dependency on the Shire River, which has met challenges recently, including cyclone-induced damage,” Kalowekamo said.
On his part, Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi Chief Executive Officer Kamkwamba Kumwenda said people from the two countries will discuss how they can finance these two projects.
“We are looking at signing inter-governmental memoranda of understanding with our Tanzanian counterparts at the end of the three days meeting since these projects are being championed by the government through the Ministry of Energy,” he said.
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Officials from Malawi and Tanzania are meeting in Dar es Salaam for the next three days to discuss issues such as funding for the Songwe Dam Project, which has the potential of generating 180 megawatts (mw) of power to be shared 90mw a piece by the two neighbouring countries, and the Tanzania-Malawi Interconnector on a 400 KV line and the potential of producing 50mw.
Tanzania has already done a feasibility study on the interconnector while Malawi has only done a preliminary study on the same.
Tanzania relies on natural gas, which produces over 64 percent of its energy, with Malawi relying on hydro energy, which caters to over 90 percent of its current energy production.
