IFC, Aldwych International, and Six Telecoms to Develop 100 MW Wind Farm in Tanzania

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is partnering with Aldwych and Six Telecoms to develop a 100 MW wind farm in Singida, Tanzania, enhancing power supply reliability, decreasing the need for costly fuel imports, and helping fight climate change. 

Being developed by project company Wind East Africa, the Singida project seeks to be the country’s first successfull, independent wind energy power project. This project is a result of the government of Tanzania’s push for diverse energy sources, as drafted in its recent policy on renewable energy. 

The total project cost for the wind farm is estimated at US$285 million, of which IFC, Aldwych and Six Telecoms will each contribute $18 million during the development stage and $71 million in total equity.

Located 700 kilometres from Dar es Salaam, the Singida wind farm will produce power through wind turbines to help diversify Tanzania’s electricity away from hydropower. When the hydropower supply drops during times of drought, Tanzania has had to turn to costly emergency power. Wind energy is an innovative way to boost power supply, with Singida expected to add 100 MW of capacity.

Singida will also provide power at more stable cost, as tariffs for wind energy remain relatively constant as no fuel source is required. The farm will be owned by Wind East Africa and operated by a management company led by Aldwych and Six Telecoms.

 "IFC invested in Wind East Africa’s Singida farm to support a pioneering energy project that can serve as an example to the entire region," said Oumar Seydi, IFC Director for East and Southern Africa. "With growing demand for electricity in Africa’s economies, independent power projects like Singida can add much-needed capacity to the power grid. Aldwych International and Six Telecoms’ participation demonstrates how the private sector can advance government efforts to increase energy security."

Mark Gammons, Project Director for Aldwych, said, "Having been involved in the successful development of the Songas gas to electricity project, Aldwych’s senior management team has deep experience in and a strong belief in the Tanzanian market. We believe this ground-breaking project will help develop the Tanzanian power sector and also the local economy around Singida."

Rashid Shamte, Founder and Head of Group Strategy at Six Telecoms, said, "As a Tanzanian company in telecoms, we were faced with the challenge of deciding how to best diversify our portfolio.

The crippling power rationing in our country presented Six Telecoms with a great challenge in our operations, so this project was a compelling option. Six Telecoms applauds the leadership of TANESCO and the government of Tanzania for initiating the wind measurement campaign in selected areas of the country, for making the wind data available to all interested parties, and for welcoming private sector participation in the energy sector.

We are lucky to have experienced partners such as Aldwych and IFC leading our efforts in this project."

In addition to the investment, IFC will assist in the overall project development. IFC will lend its experience and expertise to project structuring process and to ensure that the project meets the appropriate environmental and social standards.

IFC is making this investment through its InfraVentures division, which was created in 2008 to support innovative infrastructure projects. IFC InfraVentures addresses constraints to private investment in infrastructure, including the limited availability of funds and experienced professionals.

Increasing access to power is at the heart of IFC’s strategy for sub-Saharan Africa. IFC invested $1 billion in infrastructure projects in Africa in fiscal year 2012, up from $200 million five years ago. 　

The president of the United Republic of Tanzania Dr Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete congratulates the Wind East Africa team on the progress made with the Singida 100MW Wind Project after receiving an update on November 4th 2011 at the Singida State House. Left to Right. Said Abdallah (Project Director), Simon Magesa [Project Coordinator-Singida] Rashid Shamte (Founder -Project Director), Mark Gammons (Project Director), Jayce Kaiser (Project coordinator) (Photo:/ State House)

About IFC

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit www.ifc.org. About Aldwych International

About Aldwych

Aldwych is a leading developer of power projects in sub-Saharan Africa. Its founders and management between them have a long history of international power industry experience. They also have extensive operational experience, including operations in sub-Saharan Africa.

Most recently, Aldwych, together with Danish partners, financed, built and brought into commercial operation the 90MW Rabai power plant near Mombasa, Kenya, and Aldwych is now co-developing the 300MW Lake Turkana Wind Project in Northern Kenya. 

Aldwych International Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aldwych Holdings Ltd ("AHL"), and AHL’s shareholders include its majority shareholder, the Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund, based in South Africa, and Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. ("FMO", the Netherlands Development Finance Company). For more information, visithttp://www.aldwych-international.com/

About Six Telecoms Company

Six Telecoms is an international wholesale telecommunications carrier and Value Added Services

(VAS) provider to Mobile Network Operators (MNO) & Internet Service Providers (ISP) across Tanzania, East Africa and globally.

Founded in 2004 with a focus on international voice, Six Telecoms has successfully diversified into wholesale data, mobile value added services and media services.

Six Telecoms is a wholly Tanzanian owned company. For more information, visithttp://www.6telecoms.co.tz/

This could be East Africa's first large wind power project if delays in Kenya's wind power projects planned years ago continue ensure.