After last year’s deal by Tanzania’s government to supply natural gas to Dangote Cement Company in the south-eastern town of Mtwara, the state has offered land to the Nigerian company to mine coal for its operations.
Tanzania’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals on Saturday handed a 10-km2 plot of land to the $500-million, 3-mtpa cement factory set up in 2015.
Tanzania has banned the importation of coal from South Africa and Tancoal, the only one coal producing company in the country, cannot meet the entire market demand.
Dangote runs on expensive diesel generators and requested Tanzanian government support last year to supply natural gas at a reduced price.
President Magufuli later intervened after a meeting with the company’s owner Aliko Dangote over stalled negotiations on prices.
He blamed middlemen for the delay in supply plans and said Dangote “will now buy natural gas directly from the state-run TPDC (Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation)”.
Dangote, Africa’s biggest cement producer, is seeking to double Tanzania’s annual output of cement to 6 million tonnes.
The company plans to roll out plants across Africa.
