Chinese give $136m for Tanzania wind bid

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania - The Export–Import Bank of China has given Dar a soft loan of  Tsh 226.7 billion (about $136million) for the wind power project in the Singida region which would be able to generate 50MW. Speaking during 38th Dar es salaam International Trade FAIR (DITF) in National Development Cooperation pavilion, NDC Head of Chemical Industry, Abdallah Mandwanga said, the project will start to generate 50MW by using wind through a firm called Geo Wind Power.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 29th July 2014

U.S. Firm Secures Africa Power Deal

Nairobi - The country is poised to benefit from Tetra Tech's announcement it had been awarded a $64 million contract to provide technical assistance for the Power Africa Transactions and Reform Programme that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is funding to improve power supply in the African continent. Tetra Tech, the United States-headquartered firm, has been awarded the five-year contract to support the Power Africa Initiative. This contract has a.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 29th July 2014

Bank seeks to expand services in Kilimanjaro

UCHUMI Commercial Bank (UCB) Ltd in Kilimanjaro Region has registered a 14.3 per cent profit rise as it targets to raise its capital from 2.5bn/- to 7bn/- by 2017. Speaking at the bank’s annual general meeting during the weekend, Chairman of Board of Directors, Mr Wilson Ndesanjo said that the level of capital will ensure availability of sufficient liquidity for effective lending, cater for expansion of services, meet regulatory requirements and finance well equipped delivery.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 29th July 2014

In Kenya, the Next Big Oil Patch

Kenya's Great Rift Valley, a 450-mile-long volcanic trench ripped open by shifting tectonic plates, is known as the cradle of mankind for the million-year-old remains of human forebears discovered there. Oil drillers say the area also holds a string of fields that could make East Africa's largest economy a major energy producer. The U.K.'s Tullow Oil (TLW:LN) and Canada's Africa Oil found crude at two wells last year and now plan up to 11 more test wells in 2013. The valley could.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

Recent discoveries in Kenya highlight oil and gas potential

Kenya’s run of geologic luck continues, following the announcement of the country’s fourth consecutive discovery of oil by the UK’s Tullow Oil and Canada’s Africa Oil. Similarly, while activity in the natural gas sector is proceeding at a slower pace, following the recent departure of one explorer, the outlook for new finds is promising. New wells Tullow and Africa Oil, which are joint partners in the exploration of the East Africa Rift Basin, announced.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

Africa : High Potential Market For Solar & Other Alternative Energy Projects

Africa has a huge untapped potential for generating clean energy, including enough hydroelectric power from its seven major river systems to serve the entire continent’s needs, as well as enormous potential for other energy sources such as solar, wind and geothermal. Africa is ideal for alternative energy projects, as many of the countries receive 325 days of sunlight on average. This makes solar power a high potential for alternative energy without high cost power.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

Solar power rule heats up market for equipment vendors

Solar equipment vendors have seen an upturn in business as property developers move to comply with a new law meant to cut electricity costs. The Energy (Solar Water Heating) Regulations 2012 require builders of residential and commercial houses to include solar water heating systems in their designs. The regulations affect units whose hot water needs exceed 100 litres per day and also require existing premises with no solar heaters to have them retrofitted by 2017. “Our sales.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

Construction works of Taveta-Mwatate Road begins

President Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned construction works of the crucial road that traverses across the vast county and which has been ignored since independence. Local leaders lauded President Kenyatta saying the tarmacking of the road will not only spur growth in the county but ease transportation of people and goods between Kenya and Tanzania in the spirit of the East African Cooperation. The 110 km road links Tanzania and Kenya through the Taveta-Voi road. The road is.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

New road to unlock 'The South'

Construction of a railway line to connect Mtwara Port in Mtwara Region and Mbamba Bay in Ruvuma Region to ease haulage of heavy cargo along the Mtwara Corridor in southern Tanzania is in the offing, President Jakaya Kikwete has announced. Addressing a mammoth crowd at a public rally, the president said the government has found it ideal to construct the railway network to unlock the corridor to the rest of the country and the world. “In our plans, there will come a time.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

Africa: Chinese Automaker Foton Launches Vans for African Market

Nairobi - Chinese automaker Beiqi Foton on Saturday launched its van for the Africa market. Foton's general manager Wang Jinyu told journalist in Nairobi that Kenya is an emerging market for commercial vehicles on the continent. "We hope to provide transport solutions for growing urban centers in Kenya and the entire Africa region," he said, adding that Chinese firms are impressed by the favorable investment climate in Kenya. Foton East Africa General Manager Calvin.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

Ford drives plans for expansion in Africa

Ford has aggressive plans to expand its business in Africa and will be launching 25 new vehicles into the Middle East and Africa region by 2016, with 17 of these models launched into sub-Saharan Africa. Jim Benintende, the president of Ford Middle East and Africa (MEA), said yesterday Ford had launched earlier this year its fifth business unit, MEA, comprising 67 markets that represented “the final frontier for growth within the global automotive.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

SMEs driving printer sales in East Africa

The company also runs an office in Ethiopia and plans to launch in Tanzania. Epson’s East Africa regional manager Mukesh Bector says the region is a “key focus market” thanks to recent economic growth. Bector tells How we made it in Africa that the establishment of more small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and government agencies as well as growth in the photography industry, are impacting printer and other office equipment sales in the region. “People need.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014