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In contrast to the existing Kenya-Tanzania line, and with work on the Tanzanian side of the Zambia-Tanzania line expected to be completed by mid-2026, the stalled Zambian component of the ZTK interconnector remains far behind schedule – much to the frustration of President Hakainde Hichilema. But new funding from the World Bank Group, the UK and EU is expected to see a quick project restart, write Marc Howard and Chiwoyu Sinyangwe in Lusaka.

Commissioning of a fourth unit at the 2.1GW Julius Nyerere hydroelectric power plant has prompted the Tanzanian government to move away from gas-to-power capacity. The immediate consequence is that a power purchase agreement for Songas, the country’s first IPP, will not be renewed. Meanwhile, two foreign investors have launched arbitral claims of $500m and $1.2bn against the government, and progress remains static at the much-vaunted Tanzania LNG megaproject, writes Marc Howard.

Tanzania’s most important gas project – and its largest-ever foreign investment – is the $42bn, 15m t/yr Lindi liquefied natural gas (LNG) development, also known as Tanzania LNG (TLNG).  A long-awaited deadline to conclude a host government agreement (HGA) was missed in February but in early November there were reports of progress.

Building on funding commitments from the AfDB, US and EU, work is accelerating on the Angola-DRC-Zambia rail network. The Lobito Corridor’s first phase has already seen faster, cheaper exports of Copperbelt minerals and a feasibility study on a Zambian spur is due. Washington is now mulling support for a potential extension of the corridor to the Indian Ocean, which could compete with Chinese plans to rehabilitate the Tazara link, but might even lead to co-operation with Beijing.

Rift Valley Energy (RVE), a subsidiary of French asset manager Meridiam, has provided African Energy with an update on the timelines for its Suma and Liusenga hydroelectric power (HEP) plants in Tanzania.

The UK/Norway-owned IPP Globeleq has raised $99m of debt financing for Mozambique’s first wind project, adding to its southern African portfolio. Despite industry pessimism over the prospects for utility-scale projects, Globeleq is advancing a large pipeline of greenfield renewable and gas capacity in eastern and southern Africa and is bullish over the future of utility-scale projects, writes Marc Howard.

Meridiam-owned Rift Valley Energy has secured $15m in funding from the UK’s development finance institution British International Investment (BII) to build 7.6MW of wind and hydroelectric power projects.

Faced by a severe drought which has seen water levels fall dramatically at its hydroelectric power plants, Zambia is hoping to revive abandoned private sector-led power projects and speed up work on an interconnector with Tanzania.

First gas is expected next year for Tanzania’s strategic Ntorya onshore play, which should significantly boost gas supply amid surging local demand, while operator APT is bullish, pointing to the huge gas resources being developed in adjacent acreage across the Mozambican border.

Two units of the 2.1GW Nyerere hydroelectric megaproject are already online – adding 470MW to the Tanzanian grid – and a source has told African Energy details of the remaining seven turbines to follow. Already, the megaproject is generating surplus capacity to such an extent that state utility Tanesco is reducing output at other HEP plants while it waits for demand to pick up.

The Zanzibari Ministry of Blue Economy and Fisheries launched its first oil and gas licensing round on 20 March. Bidders are being sought for eight offshore blocks to the east of Unguja and Pemba islands.

Slow progress at some of sub-Saharan Africa’s most high-profile LNG developments come as exporters from other parts of the world race to sign new long-term deals with buyers from Asia and Europe. The risk for African producers is that they could miss out on lucrative opportunities, costing governments large amounts in lost foreign earnings, writes Marc Howard*.

The $2.9bn Julius Nyerere dam’s first 235MW turbine has started dispatching power, and a second unit is expected online very soon, as the much-delayed 2.1GW megaproject starts to fulfil its potential to supply national and regional demand – provided long-standing questions around the transmission infrastructure can be overcome, writes Marc Howard.

Rivalry between the world’s two most powerful nations is driving a rush to build strategic export-focused railway infrastructure in Africa on a scale not seen since the height of the Cold War. Washington’s $500m commitment to the minerals export-focused Lobito Corridor has been countered by a $1bn Chinese proposal to rehabilitate the creaking Tazara line. The two megaprojects will have terminals close together in the Copperbelt, but geopolitical considerations are likely to prevent any interconnection, writes Marc Howard.

The World Bank Group has approved a $202m finance facility to help address grid constraints and enable regional interconnections – opening the way for a doubling of hydropower imports from Ethiopia – under the second phase of its ten-year green energy programme for Kenya.