Sh11bn TMA radar to boost accuracy
Deputy minister for Works, Transport and Communications, Mr Atashasta Nditiye
What you need to know:
The new equipment, to be installed at Kawetere in Mbeya and Nyamoli in Kigoma, brings the total number of radars operated by TMA to five
Dar es Salaam. The accuracy rate of weather forecasts by the Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) will rise to 95 per cent, thanks to a Sh11.4 billion investment in two modern technology radars for the task.
The deputy minister for Works, Transport and Communications, Mr Atashasta Nditiye, said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that TMA had entered into a contract with American company, Enterprise Electronics Corporation (EEC), for the purchase of two radars, each costing Sh5.7 billion.
“Currently, TMA’s forecasting accuracy rate stands at 88 per cent, but with the increased modern technology involving the radar network, the agency will be able to forecast the weather with an accuracy of nearly 95 per cent,” he said during the signing of a contract in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
The new equipment, to be installed at Kawetere in Mbeya and Nyamoli in Kigoma, brings the total number of radars operated by TMA to five. According to Mr Nditiye, the country will need a total of seven radars to acquire a 99 or 100 per cent level of accuracy.
All the five radars have been bought from EEC. TMA director general, Dr Agnes Kijazi, said the radars will be delivered after 14 months..
“These radars are based on modern weather technology, which is capable of detecting the motion of rain droplets in the atmosphere in addition to the intensity of precipitation,” she said, noting that under the contract, EEC was obligated to provide capacity building training.
