PRODUCTION costs will lower, inflation fall further and local currency will stabilise against major currencies of the world, come December 2014 when natural gas will replace fossil fuel in generating electricity.
Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Dr William Mgimwa said in Dar es Salaam that currently the country pays between 40 and 44 US cents to generate a kilowatt hour of power, while with natural gas the price will nosedive to between 6 and 8 US cents.
"That's why we continue to emphasise gas and invest heavily in this area, we thank the Chinese government for the 1.2 billion US dollars loan to develop the southern region gas reserve and for the construction of a pipeline," Dr Mgimwa said during a meeting with visiting Chinese Auditor General, Liu Jiayi.
He said natural gas used in power generation and industrial production will reduce the import bill which is currently dominated by fossil fuels that will further impact on the shilling's exchange rate.
"We are targeting to be a middle income country by 2025 and energy is a priority to achieve this," Dr Mgimwa who travels to China next Tuesday on an official tour, said.
Last year, China through its Export Import Bank gave Tanzania a loan of 1.2 billion US dollars to finance construction of a natural gas pipeline linking Mtwara gas fields to Dar es Salaam, over 500 kilometres in length and erect processing plants.
The country has an estimated over 40 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves in the southern region of Mtwara. The visiting Chinese Auditor General who was accompanied by Controller and Auditor General (CAG), Ludovick Utouh said Beijing is committed to assist Dar es Salaam attain rapid development of its infrastructure and human capital.
"My visit is a follow up to President Xi's visit to your country earlier this year. Our cooperation is between friends with no strings attached," Mr Jiayi said.
He pledged to make sure that a modern facility to train local auditors will be financed by his government after accepting a request made by the host government. "We are committed to help your national audit office perform better and meet UN demands," Jiayi noted.
Tanzania's CAG office is effective this year officially auditing accounts of United Nations and all its agencies. About 20 local auditors will visit China for a two week crash programme this month to acquire modern audit skills required to check UN accounts books.
Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Dr William Mgimwa said in Dar es Salaam that currently the country pays between 40 and 44 US cents to generate a kilowatt hour of power, while with natural gas the price will nosedive to between 6 and 8 US cents.
"That's why we continue to emphasise gas and invest heavily in this area, we thank the Chinese government for the 1.2 billion US dollars loan to develop the southern region gas reserve and for the construction of a pipeline," Dr Mgimwa said during a meeting with visiting Chinese Auditor General, Liu Jiayi.
He said natural gas used in power generation and industrial production will reduce the import bill which is currently dominated by fossil fuels that will further impact on the shilling's exchange rate.
"We are targeting to be a middle income country by 2025 and energy is a priority to achieve this," Dr Mgimwa who travels to China next Tuesday on an official tour, said.
Last year, China through its Export Import Bank gave Tanzania a loan of 1.2 billion US dollars to finance construction of a natural gas pipeline linking Mtwara gas fields to Dar es Salaam, over 500 kilometres in length and erect processing plants.
The country has an estimated over 40 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves in the southern region of Mtwara. The visiting Chinese Auditor General who was accompanied by Controller and Auditor General (CAG), Ludovick Utouh said Beijing is committed to assist Dar es Salaam attain rapid development of its infrastructure and human capital.
"My visit is a follow up to President Xi's visit to your country earlier this year. Our cooperation is between friends with no strings attached," Mr Jiayi said.
He pledged to make sure that a modern facility to train local auditors will be financed by his government after accepting a request made by the host government. "We are committed to help your national audit office perform better and meet UN demands," Jiayi noted.
Tanzania's CAG office is effective this year officially auditing accounts of United Nations and all its agencies. About 20 local auditors will visit China for a two week crash programme this month to acquire modern audit skills required to check UN accounts books.
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