Engaruka soda ash project: Compensations to villagers to start next month
Lake Natron flamingoes. The project was to be constructed at a site near the lake in Ngorongoro District, but was shelved due to environmental concerns. Later soda ash was discovered at Engaruka in the nearby Monduli District, Arusha Region. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- Located in Engaruka Basin, Monduli District, about 160 km north-east of Arusha city, the soda ash project is spearheaded by the National Development Corporation (NDC)
Dar es Salaam. The government will start compensating Engaruka residents to pave the way for the start of the soda ash project later this year, the government has said.
According to the minister for Industries and Trade, Dr Ashatu Kijaji, the ministry has already mobilised funds to compensate villagers who would have to vacate their areas to pave the way for the project.
She said the soda ash processing factory would provide the much-needed raw materials for local factories.
Located in Engaruka Basin, Monduli District, about 160 km north-east of Arusha city, the soda ash project is spearheaded by the National Development Corporation (NDC).
“The Engaruka project will provide the much-needed raw materials to glass factories in Tanzania by up to 99 percent,” Dr Kijaji said at a ceremony to launch the vehicle assembly plant for Howo trucks on May 9, 2024, which was attended by President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
Early this year, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry of Industry and Trade, Dr Hashil Abdallah, said President Samia Suluhu Hassan had released over Sh40 billion to compensate around 300 villagers living near the project so that they could vacate the area to allow for implementation.
What was being awaited, it seems, was a land survey and valuation of the properties of Project Affected People (PAP) in order to compensate and re-locate them, which has now been completed, according to the NDC.
“When we came to you asking for funds to compensate all those who would have to vacate the site, you readily helped us,” Dr Kijaji said, addressing President Hassan.
The project would occupy 27,000 hectares, according to the NDC.
It will involve setting up a soda ash extraction plant with a capacity of at least 1,000,000 metric tonnes per annum (MTPA).
Soda ash is extensively used for the manufacturing of glasses, fertilisers, dyes and colouring agents.
It is also used in petroleum refineries, metallurgical (iron and steel) industries, soap & detergent industries, power stations to capture harmful plant emissions, pulp and paper industries, water treatment.
Drilling explorations conducted at Engaruka have established the presence of 4.68 billion cubic metres of brine, which co-exists with a solid salt crust amounting to 9.36 billion cubic metres.
A soda ash project was originally planned for Oldonyo Lengai near Lake Natron, but the National Development Corporation (NDC) dropped the area due to environmental concerns and the fact that the site is a breeding area for laser flamingos.
The government, then, discovered the soda ash in the Engaruka ward in Monduli, where the project will now be implemented.
