Kibo Mining PLC (LON:KIBO) has persuaded Tanzania’s state power company Tanesco to speed up the finalisation of a power purchase agreement for the Mbeya (MCPP) project.
An updated memorandum of understanding for the thermal power station has been submitted to Tanzania’s energy ministry and Attorney General for final sign off.
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This includes a much shorter timeline for a power purchase agreement (PPA) to be agreed, which is key to construction getting underway at Mbeya.
Louis Coetzee, Kibo’s chief executive, said the fact the new MOU has been agreed by all parties involved, including the government and TANESCO, underlined the importance of the project to the country.
“Both the Ministry of Energy and TANESCO recognise the importance of reaching a final PPA for the MCPP as soon as practically possible and that the delays in the finalisation of the MOU and subsequent PPA had to be addressed by a reassessment of the conditions precedent to ensure that the PPA is expedited and crystalized for the benefit of all stakeholders.
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He added that TANESCO has committed to ensuring the expedited timelines in the updated MOU, along which the PPA is to be agreed and finalised, are indeed met.
Kibo wants to develop the Mbeya coal mine as a 1.5mln tonne operation with a 300Mw mine-mouth power station.