Tanzania is moving toward signing an agreement for its long-delayed 42 billion US dollar liquefied natural gas project before June, a step that would clear the way for production to begin in roughly eight years, Reuters reported.

The project, the largest investment ever planned in the country, requires a dedicated legal structure because of its scale, according to Kitila Mkumbo, minister of state in the president’s office for planning and investment. Speaking in London, he said negotiations had advanced beyond commercial terms.

“We have basically concluded the commercial discussions. We are now only discussing the legal framework of this agreement,” Mkumbo said during the briefing.

The development had been stalled after the government sought revisions to a financial agreement reached in 2023. Once finalised, the project would unlock an estimated 47.13 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves.

Equinor and Shell serve as joint operators of the LNG venture, with Exxon Mobil, Pavilion Energy, Medco Energi, and Tanzania’s state-owned TPDC participating as partners.

Mkumbo said the agreement was effectively complete. “The deal is done and we expect this to be signed before June,” he said, adding that the project is expected to generate more than 100,000 jobs over its lifespan.

Together with gas developments in neighbouring Mozambique, Tanzania’s LNG project is seen as a potential pillar in positioning East Africa as a new supplier of liquefied natural gas to Asian markets, Reuters reported.

The minister also said President Samia Suluhu Hassan had instructed the central bank to sell part of the country’s gold reserves to raise funds for infrastructure projects currently under construction. “We need cash,” he said, citing financing demands linked to ongoing investments.

Gold prices climbed to record levels above 5,100 US dollars on Monday as investors sought safe-haven assets amid global political tensions.

Mkumbo’s remarks came as Tanzania continues to face pressure on external financing following unrest linked to last year’s election, which evolved into the country’s most serious political crisis in decades. Hassan was declared the landslide winner after her two main challengers were disqualified from the race.

The main opposition party, CHADEMA, along with some human rights activists, has said security forces killed more than 1,000 people during the unrest. The government disputes the claim but has not released its own death toll.

According to Mkumbo, international partners, mainly European countries, withheld between 2 billion US dollars and 3 billion US dollars from Tanzania’s 10 billion US dollar development budget, including concessional loans and other budget support.