Dar es Salaam, Sept. 22 -- ON your way to Lake Nyasa from Dar es Salaam, in the tranquil hills of Ludewa District, Njombe Region, something monumental is happening and it does not involve a political rally or a new regional football team. Instead, shovels are hitting the ground, power lines are rising and Tanzania is inching closer to its industrial dream.

Welcome to the twin titans of development: The Liganga and Mchuchuma projects, which are massive ventures in mining and power generation that promise to power Tanzanias economy and rewrite its industrial story.

Sure, for decades, Tanzania has juggled the irony of being resource-rich yet import-dependent and sending billions of shillings abroad for raw materials while sitting on mounta...