Japan dishes out 77.4bn/- for road upgrading works

IMPROVEMENTS of road infrastructure in Dar es Salaam has received a financial grant of 77.4bn/- from the government of Japan, for road widening and securing space for an envisaged Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) along the 4.3 kilometre stretch between Morocco and Mwenge.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Mr Dotto James, and Japanese Ambassador to Tanzania, Mr Masaharu Yoshida, signed the exchange documents and grant agreement in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

Mr James explained that the widening and improvement of the Mwenge-Morocco section was the second phase, following the widening of the 12.9km stretch from Mwenge to Tegeta, which was funded through a 99.5bn/- grant from the government of Japan.

“The project for expansion of New Bagamoyo Road is one of Japan’s support to Tanzania, the first phase of the project between Mwenge and Tegeta having been completed three years ago. “However, widening the Mwenge-Morocco section must be done so that the expansion of the Mwenge-Tegeta stretch can be fully exploited,” Ambassador Yoshida explained.

The Chief Representative of Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) in Tanzania, Mr Toshio Nagase, and other officials, accompanied the envoy at the signing ceremony. Through JICA, the government of Japan had earlier dished out a grant of 69 millionJapanese Yen (about 1.4bn/-) which was spent on financing a feasibility study and detailed design for the same project.

Mr James explained, on the other hand, that the stretch would be fitted with all necessary facilities such as traffic lights, road signs and related amenities in addition a space for BRT, all of which are presently lacking. “It is almost two years since expansion of Mwenge-Morocco was executed through the 4bn/- which had been allocated for the Independence Anniversary in 2015, but the stretch does not have required facilities compared to the Mwenge-Ubungo and Mwenge-Tegeta stretches, and hence the need for improvement,” he explained.

President John Magufuli had directed in 2015 that funds earmarked for the independence festivities that year be channeled to the expansion of the Mwenge- Morocco stretch, whose construction work was completed almost two years ago. The envisaged construction of BRT lanes from Morocco to Tegeta is the anticipated fourth phase of such projects in Dar es Salaam.

The first phase, which is now operational along Morogoro Road, covers Kimara Mwisho, Kivukoni and Gerezani and a branch-off to Morocco along Rashid Kawawa Road. The second phase of the project is slated for Kilwa Road from Mbagala to the city centre while the third one will cover Nyerere Road from Gongo la Mboto to the city centre.

The JICA’s Chief Representative in Tanzania was upbeat that upgrading the Mwenge-Morocco stretch would ease traffic congestion along New Bagamoyo Road and eventually accelerate development in the country’s commercial capital.

Estimates indicate that an average of 52,000 vehicles pass through the stretch every day, he explained, making the targeted area one of the most highly congested in Dar es Salaam.