INVADERS with structures put up within railway reserve areas where the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line will pass through will not receive any compensations, the government has declared.
The railway reserve area, according to
the Railway Law is 15 metres from the centre of the line stretched on
both sides of the line in urban and 30 metres also in the rural areas
respectively.
Speaking to ‘Daily News’ the Reli Assets
Holding Company (RAHCO) Public Relations Officer Ms Catherine Moshi
said according to the base line they have received so far, 76 percent
the SGR project will pass through the existing railway line reserve
areas.
“Only about 24 percent of the SGR
project will go outside the railway reserve area and eat parts of public
land to reduce sharp curves. It is only these people who will receive
compensation but the rest will not,” she explained advising those living
in the reserve areas to start relocating before they are forcefully
removed by the law.
The government is currently in the
evaluation process for a tender it announced in September through Rahco
for design and building contract in the first phase of the project from
Dar es Salaam to Morogoro, a 202km stretch whose construction is
expected to begin in the first quarter of next year. Ms Moshi pointed
out that the invaders should start moving out of the railway line
reserve area before commencement of the SGR project picks up, otherwise
they will be removed by force.
Under the SGR project contract, the line
will be built in phases as Dar es Salaam to Morogoro, Morogoro to
Dodoma, Dodoma to Tabora, Tabora to Isaka and lastly Isaka to Mwanza.
Already the government has invited bidders for the construction of the
sections from Morogoro to Mwanza and contractors who have expressed
interests have been taken to the sites to enable them present proper
bidding quotations.
“The tenders for the Morogoro to Mwanza
section is expected to be opened in February, and bidders are continuing
to express interest. Those who have contested have been taken to the
sites as required by law so that they make proper quotations,” Ms Moshi
added.
She explained that dividing the project
into sections will speed up construction time and see into it that it is
completed within the three years as outlined by President John
Magufuli. The more than 1,219km project from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza
will cost 15trl/-.
The government secured a USD 7.6 billion
concessional loan from China’s Export-Import Bank (Exim) in July 2016
to build the SGR line that will link Tanzania to neighbouring countries
of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC).
It also allocated 1tri/-(about $450
million) during the 2016/17 financial year. The planned SGR line is
expected to improve regional trade links and help boost the economy in
Tanzania and the landlocked neighbouring countries.
Rahco is the main supervisor of the
project, which is part of the Central Transport Corridor intended to
promote interregional trade in the East African Community. G
iving further details about the project,
the Minister of Works, Transport and Communication Prof Makame Mbarawa
was quoted in the media saying the new railway will have a speed
capacity of between 120 and 150-kilometre per hour, adding that movement
of goods and people from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza will take less than
12-hours.
Upcountry buses spend more than 16 hours
in the same trip and according to Prof Mbarawa the current meter-gauge
line takes more than 36-hours for cargo to move from Mwanza to Dar es
Salaam.
Meanwhile construction of the SGR
project will also include identifying railway reserve borderlines where a
fence will be put up especially in areas with human concentrations and
beacons in area where there are no people.
Assets Holding Company (RAHCO) Public
Relations Officer Ms Catherine Moshi told the ‘Daily News’ that the move
is intended to keep the public from invading the railway reserve areas.
She also hinted that the SGR line will be constructed with concrete
slabs instead of metal slippers unlike the current case of the existing
meter gauge to guard against vandalisms.
“Unless someone has ill intentions of
derailing the development, but we do not expect any form of vandalism in
the new railway line,” she pointed out.
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