Coast steel plant promised electricity

 

PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa has directed the electricity contractor at the Kiluwa Steel Group factory in Coast Region to connect the industry to reliable electricity within 18 days, so that it kicks off operations immediately.

Mr Majaliwa issued the directive yesterday when speaking to residents and government leaders of Coast Region who turned up at the factory located at Mlandizi. The PM made an impromptu tour at the factory to see if the directives he issued on July 12 when he visited for the first time had been fully implemented. 

 

“When I arrived here for the first time, I issued various directives that were meant to facilitate smooth operations at the factory and I am glad that most of them have been implemented except that of electricity,’’ he said.

According to Mr Majaliwa, the contractor requested 14 more days to electrify the factory but he gave him until December 7, to make sure that reliable power was available at the factory. “They have now started a pilot exercise and they need more time for the transformer to supply electricity...this is a technical matter so we need to give them time,’’ he insisted.

In his brief report to the Premier Coast Regional Commissioner (RC) Engineer Evarist Ndikilo said he did not see the reason as to why the contractor should be given more time for completion of the project at the factory because he had promised earlier that the work would be complete within 14 days.

On the compensation that is supposed to be paid to people who were removed from their land to pave the way for the factory’s operations, the RC said residents are supposed to be paid 95.76m/- while the District Council owes the company 307.26m/-, totalling 403m/-.

In his remarks, Dekan Group Ltd Director General Engineer Desderius Luhaga who was contracted to put up electricity infrastructure at the factory requested for 14 more days to electrify the industry.

“We have already completed a greater part of power connectivity and we are putting up 132KV electricity, already we are doing regular tests in some of the turbines but we need five more days so that the transformer that we have installed can cool down to pump electricity in the factory,’’ he said.