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WB approves 200 mln USD loan for power connections in Tanzanian

Xinhua, June 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

The World Bank has approved a 200 million US dollars loan for a program aimed at connecting 2.5 million Tanzanian households in rural areas to the national electricity grid over the next five years, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday.

The program aims to build on the recent achievements of expanding nationwide access to 36 percent in 2014, said the statement issued in the east African nation's commercial capital Dar es Salaam.

The statement added that the program will scale up the supply of renewable energy in rural areas.

"Access to electricity is critical to extend economic opportunities and reduce poverty," said Bella Bird, World Bank Country Director for Tanzania, who also covers Malawi, Burundi and Somali.

"This program not only offers the opportunity for many more Tanzanians to have access to power in their homes and businesses, but also enables small power producers to access finance to invest in production, including with renewable energy sources," she said.

The government of Tanzania is currently implementing a national energy policy whose goal is to increase the country's overall electricity connectivity to 50 percent by 2025 and to at least 75 percent by 2033.

The National Rural Electrification Program (2013-2022) under which the new program is to be implemented, includes both on-grid and off-grid solutions and has four priorities.

The priorities are the connection of new customers to the grid in already electrified settlements; new connections to the grid; electrification through off-grid investments; and the development of distributed technologies, in particular off-grid solar and other renewable technologies.

In addition to household beneficiaries, the bank's financing will also benefit 25,000 education facilities, 25,000 health facilities, 150,000 businesses, said the statement.

Small power projects will also benefit from access to capital to enable them to contribute 33MW in renewable energy under the program, said the statement. Endit