Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Tanzania to Spend $5 Billion on Transport Upgrade

Infrastructure Development Minister Shukuru Kawambwa
Tanzania will spend $5 billion over the next five years to upgrade its transport system, Infrastructure Development Minister Shukuru Kawambwa said.

The project is part of the East African nation’s transport investment program, which will run over two five-year phases and will develop roads, ports, railways, airports and ferries, Kawambwa said at a conference in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam today.

“It is expected that by 2018, all trunk roads will be paved, thus enabling all regional centers to be linked with paved roads and all district headquarters to be linked with all weather roads,” he said.

Due to low levels of investment, Tanzania’s transport infrastructure is inadequate to cope with growing demand, Kawambwa said.

The government can “ill afford” to develop the system alone, and needs to partner with the private investors, he said, without adding more detail.

The country is in talks with the Japanese government to secure funds to build flyovers in Dar es Salaam to ease traffic congestion, Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda said on July 27.

Msomaji
Dar es salaam

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