Tanzania and Zambia plan to build a refined products pipeline to transport petroleum between the two countries at a cost of $1.5 billion, Tanzania’s Energy minister said on Tuesday.
Zambia, Africa’s top copper producer, imports most of its petroleum requirements, mainly from the Middle East, through the port of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania.
Medard Kalemani said in a presentation of his ministry’s 2019/20 (July-June) budget that the pipeline would run from the commercial capital Dar es Salaam to Zambia’s mining city of Ndola, some 1,349 km away.
Kalemani, speaking in Tanzania’s administrative capital Dodoma, did not give a time frame for when the project would kick off, but said that in the coming fiscal year, they planned to complete a feasibility study.
He also gave no details on how it would be financed.
“The project will reduce challenges in transporting petroleum products in the countries that use our ports to import fuel and open up business opportunities …” he said.
“The project will be implemented jointly by Zambia and Tanzania.”
Kalemani said the pipeline would also have take-off points at Morogoro, Iringa, Njombe, Mbeya and Songwe regions on the Tanzanian side.
Tanzania and Zambia already have a crude oil pipeline between them transporting oil to Zambia, where it is refined in Ndola for local use.
What happened to the plan to build a pipeline from Angola to Zambia? A pipeline from the producer would make more sense because even Tanzania would find Angolan oil cheaper than Middle East oil. The whole SADC should be buying oil from Angola
Ubuntu no buntungwa – you need to refine Angolan oil so where will the pipe go to?
Its like this government has just woken up to the fact that the we need important projects after blowing USD 14 billion …we heard of the Batoka power plant with local financing (a joke), the Angola pipeline and now this project clearly stating not sure of financing sources ….Even chipantepante is beginning to sound sensible to whatever this is
@Jay Jay we do refine crude from the middle east right now so what stops us from building another refinery in Mongu or Kabompo?
However Angola has a refinery if we want refined. Last time I checked they were building two more. And what stops us from setting up a “joint venture with the 5 landlinked countries surrounding us.
Its different grade of crude…please go and research
Research what Jay Jay? Read my answer: I know its different crude. That is why I havent said take it to Indeni. I have said build a new refinery. If that refinery is too big a project for Zambia get a buy in from Zimbabwe, Botswana, Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi all of whom in the long run would benefit from buying Angolan oil at obviously a much cheaper price than they are buying now.
By the way this kind of buy in has been done before, like in the Inga project.
The tanzanians seem to be the only ones who still believe this zambia govrrnment. Today they just announce cancellation of a projects. Go & check with progress on kazungula bridge, botswana is finishing it on zambias behalf. Be ware the pfs
Why this proposal?? What happened to TAZAMA. You already have a pipe line all you need to do is rehabilitate.
“He also gave no details on how it would be financed.”
Really laughable…Zambia is broke they do not have $15 million where are they going to get $1.5 Billion.
What type reporting is this how do you talk of building a pipeline when there is already one at least explain what’s wrong with the existing one.
If this project was to go ahead use this opportunity to pull undersea cables from Kenya to Zambia…LAZY LUNGU is too dull for smart thinking!!