Tanzania and Malawi discuss a fuel pipeline link from Songwe

Saturday 14th November 2026

By inAfrika Newsroom

Tanzania and Malawi discussed a possible fuel pipeline from Tanzania’s Songwe region into Malawi on 13 November. A link through Songwe could connect Malawi to a new pipeline that Tanzania and Zambia are preparing, Tanzania’s Ministry of Energy said.

Malawi’s director of energy services, Joseph Kalowekamo, said his country relied on Dar es Salaam and Tanga ports for more than 70% of its fuel imports. Trucks carry the fuel more than 1,500 kilometres, he said. He told the meeting in Dar es Salaam that delays on the road route had prompted Malawi to consider a pipeline.

Grace Mwakasege, Tanzania’s assistant commissioner for midstream and downstream petroleum, said the proposed new TAZAMA line was in early preparation. Its feasibility and market studies considered demand in Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as in Tanzania and Zambia. Tanzania’s petroleum development corporation took part in the talks.

Mwakasege pointed to a proposed distribution terminal in Songwe as a possible connection point. Tanzania’s ministry also listed proposed terminals in Morogoro and Makambako on the Tanzanian side, and Mpika and Serenje on the Zambian side. The ministry reported no approval, budget or construction schedule for the Malawi link.

The meeting follows a 2023 energy cooperation agreement between Tanzania and Malawi. In a separate initiative, the presidents of Tanzania and Zambia directed their energy ministries to begin preparing the new TAZAMA line in October 2023.

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