In just two years: Over 3000 new industrial plants pop up

MORE than 3,600 small to large scale industries have been built over the past two years under President John Magufuli’s leadership, Finance and Planning Minister, Dr Philip Mpango, told Parliamentarians yesterday.

Presenting a 32.5trn/- draft budget for FY 2018/19 to MPs, the minister said the state is considering pumping more funds in the private sector to help build a flourishing industrial economy. “Our new plan is to engage the private sector in the implementation of development projects.

We are addressing obstacles holding back investment and through a publicprivate partnership we want to ensure easy access to land for investment,” he said in a detailed statement to the House. The meeting was also attended by ministers and the Deputy Speaker, Dr Tulia Ackson, at which the government said it had also resolved to build at least a hundred industries in every region.

The detailed cites 110 new industries whose construction are at various stages of completion; in the new list targeting industries to be built during FY 2017/18, Coast Region leads with 47 industries, followed by Dar es Salaam (16), Mwanza (13) and Tanga (7).

Other regions had less than five new factories, namely, Dodoma, Mtwara, Shinyanga, Arusha, Singida, Kagera, Katavi, Lindi, Mbeya, Kilimanjaro and Morogoro. Dr Mpango listed projects that would be implemented under PPP in the next financial year as the Mwambani Port, Standard Gauge Railway line, Mchuchuma/ Liganga (coal) and Tanga- Arusha-Musoma railway line.

“We are also considering to engage the private sector in operating the Dar es Salaam passenger train, natural gas connectivity to households in the city as well as running the Second, Third and Fourth phases of the Dar rapid transit – DART,” he said.

During FY 2017/18 the government had overseen establishment of a number of private-run and PPP industries, to wit: KIlimanjaro, Tanga and Mbeya cement plants, Goodwill ceramic (Mkuranga), Kilua Steel (Mlandizi), Elven Agri Co. Limited, Phillip Morris and Inhemeter Luku factory (Dar es Salaam) - all having created over 16,000 new jobs between them.

“Mount Meru, Kahama Oil Mills, steels, iron sheet, pipe and plastic factories have all been officially launched,” the minister added.