President Magufuli’s government has spent about $62 million to buy two
Bombardier Q400 aeroplanes from Canada. The Air Tanzania planes have
already started domestic flights. PHOTO | MWANANCHI
By ASTERIUS BANZI
In Summary
President John Magufuli signalled his determination to
develop the country’s infrastructure earlier in the year when he raised
the allocation for development projects from 26 per cent to 40 per cent
of the budget.
Major investments during the one year of the Magufuli presidency
are the construction of the standard gauge railway, the Uganda-Tanzania
oil pipeline and the revival of Air Tanzania Corporation (ATCL).
Standard gauge railway
In the 2016/17 budget, the Finance Minister allocated Tsh1
trillion ($455 million) for construction of a standard gauge railway
(SGR) line that will link Tanzania with the landlocked neighbouring East
African countries on the Central Corridor, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic
Republic of Congo and Uganda.
The 2,190km project will be implemented in four phases over the
next three years, beginning with the 200km Dar es Salaam–Morogoro
section, expected to start in January 2017. The government is in the
process of selecting a contractor out of about 40 applicants.
In addition to the funds allocated in the 2016/17 budget, in
July, Tanzania signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s Exim
Bank, for a $7.6 billion loan to finance the project.
Currently, the Tanzanian rail network comprises two main
railways: The 2,600km Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) network and
the 1,067km Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara) of connecting Dar
es Salaam with Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia. The TRC main line runs between
the port of Dar es Salaam in the east through the central areas,
terminating at Kigoma on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in the west.
Revival of Air Tanzania
In a bid to revive the state-owned carrier Air Tanzania,
President Magufuli’s government has spent about $62 million to buy two
Bombardier Q400 aeroplanes from Canada. The two 76-seater planes have
already started domestic flights in Tanzania.
The government has also paid a 30 per cent advance to acquire
three more planes from the same company next year. One of the Bombardier
Q400s is expected to arrive in Dar in June 2017.
The Canadian company also manufactures Bombardier C Series with
130-160 seat capacity, and Tanzania has ordered two of them expected in
Dar in early 2018. One costs about $54,000,000.
At the same time, the government has made a $10 million deposit
to US-based Boeing for the purchase of a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which
costs $224.6 million.
The 242-seater plane is also expected in Dar in early 2018, and,
according to the President, it will be making long range trips to help
boost tourism, which contributes about $2 billion to the economy per
year.
Uganda-Tanzania oil pipeline
President Magufuli this year sealed a deal to make the port of
Tanga Uganda’s choice as a point of exit for its oil exports. While the
$4 pipeline from Hoima in Uganda to Tanga will be of significant benefit
to Tanzania, particularly with increased revenues at the port.
Tanzania’s investment in the project involves improving the port.
The 1,403km pipeline will not only benefit Uganda and Tanzania
but also other countries in the region such as South Sudan, Rwanda,
Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Construction is expected
to be completed by June 2020
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