Tanzania to spend $6 million to acquire Lindi’s LNG terminal land

The Tanzanian government has said it plans to spend $6 million in the fiscal year 2015/16 of acquire land for the construction of a liquefied natural gas terminal raising hopes that the land issues that have dogged the project might be past its hurdles.

The project expected to cost over $30 billion has attracted companies from United States, Russia, Australia and Canada and is expected to start exports by 2020.

According to Reuters the amount that translates to 12 billion Tanzanian shillings will be used for assessment and compensation of 450 households living in the small town of Lindi as to where the LNG terminal will be built.

Lindi is favored as it is close to an offshore deep-sea region where various companies including BG Group, Statoil, ExxonMobil and Ophir Energy have discovered over 50Tcf of natural gas.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the government of Tanzania, the partners in Blocks 1, 3 and 4 and the partners in Block 2 was signed in April 2014 covering the site selected for the LNG plant, the process for acquiring the site, the lease to be negotiated, and how any resettlement will be managed.