(Reuters) – Tanzania’s growth accelerated in the first quarter of 2014 from a year earlier, on the back of a jump in gold production and power generation, the statistics office said on Thursday.
Gross domestic product (GDP) in Tanzania – one of the fastest growing economies in the region – expanded by 7.4 percent in the first quarter of 2014 compared to 7.1 percent a year ago, said the state-run National Bureau of Statistics.
“Mining and quarrying activities registered a growth of 8.7 percent in the first quarter of 2014 compared to a growth rate of 1.7 percent during the same period in 2013,” NBS director of economic statistics Morrice Oyuke told a news conference.
“This growth increase is attributed to an increase in gold production during the first quarter of 2014,” he added. Tanzania is Africa’s fourth-largest gold producer after South Africa, Ghana and Mali.
Big gas discoveries offshore – still several years away from major exports – have drawn in more investors, both in the energy industry and other sectors looking to find a foothold in a growing market.
The country aims to double its power production capacity to 3,000 megawatts by 2016 by investing in new gas and coal-fired turbines.
“Power generation and water supply activities grew at a speed of 12.6 percent in the first quarter of 2014 compared with 6.2 percent in the same period in 2013,” said Oyuke.
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