Tanzania to finalise land acquisition for natural gas project

Tanzania plans to spend $6 million in the next fiscal year to buy land for the planned construction of a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal, raising hopes it is speeding up progress of the long-delayed project.

The two-train onshore LNG export terminal, which the government says could cost up to $30 billion, has run into delays mainly due to complex land acquisition procedures and an uncertain legal and regulatory framework. Along with neighbouring Mozambique, Tanzania is in a race with Russia, Australia, US and Canada to build LNG export plants, aiming to exploit a gap in global supply that is expected to open up by 2020.