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Zanzibar get 56 Millions USD for Electricity |
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Written by Reuters
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Thursday, 14 August 2008 |
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Norway gave Zanzibar 300 million kronors ($56 million) to help the semi-autonomous archipelago lay an undersea power cable linking Pemba Island to mainland Tanzania, the Norwegian Embassy said on Wednesday. The 73 km line will connect Pemba to Tanga in north east Tanzania and replace three old diesel generators currently providing the population on the island with electricity. "The new cable will ensure a more reliable and stable power supply to the citizens of Pemba. It is anticipated that the cable will be in operation towards the end of 2010," the embassy said in a statement. The money will cover about 75 percent of the money needed and will also be used to install overhead transmission cables and substations in Pemba.
Zanzibar's government will provide the remaining 100 million kronors needed for the project, the statement said. The main Zanzibar island relies on a single submarine cable for its electricity from mainland Tanzania. Its vulnerability was evident when in late June the archipelago went for weeks without electricity when that link broke. State-run Tanzania Electric Supply Company also plans to lay a second cable to Zanzibar. (Reporting by George Obulutsa; editing by James Jukwey
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