|
Power blues: Isles seek Israeli expertise
2006-11-01 09:09:59
By Mwinyi Sadallah, Zanzibar
Electrical engineers from Zanzibar Electricity Company (ZECO) are scheduled to visit Israel next week to undertake special training on generation of electricity from sea waves.
In an exclusive interview with The Guardian yesterday, ZECO General Manager Juma Is-haka said the decision to dispatch the experts to Israel was in response to the imminent energy crisis facing Zanzibar and the entire country.
Both Zanzibar and Pemba islands have experienced acute power crisis in the wake of the drop in water levels at Mtera and Kidatu dams on the Mainland, forcing the closure of the latter, Is-haka said.
Is-haka confirmed the team of engineers is leaving for Israel on November 8.
”Currently our experts have been receiving on-the-job training before signing a training contract with Israel,” he said.
ZECO, he said, in collaboration with an Israeli company, SDE, would finance the training.
”This trip is very important for the country. If the project takes off, Zanzibar shall have reliable supply of electricity,” he said.
Is-haka gave the names of the engineers who would travel to Israel as ZECO Production Manager, Ahmed Sheikh, Deputy Production Manager, Salum Masoud and Production Manager for Pemba, Mohammed Suleiman Khatib.
The Zanzibar Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry for Water, Works, Energy and Land, Silima Mkindwi will accompany the ZECO delegation, he said.
He said preliminary feasibility study on power generation had shown that Zanzibar had strong sea waves, which were suitable for power generation.
He said the Isles power consumption stands at 36 megawatts, adding that Pemba Island was depending on thermal power stations installed at Wesha in Chake Chake District.
|
