Top mega-projects under way in Tanzania


The following are the big mega-projects underway in Tanzania. Eastern African countries have increased investment in infrastructure projects over the last five years, with Tanzania leading the way in terms of value and number of projects that broke ground in June last year. The Government is implementing the National Five-Year Development Plan, which aims to promote industrialization for economic growth and human development.

The ambitious port of Bagamoyo is now being established in Tanzania through collaboration between Tanzania, China and Oman, along with 190 industries constructed over a 1,700-hectare special economic zone adjacent to the port.

At a cost of USD 11 billion, this mega infrastructure project is planned to become Africa’s largest port. The port should be able to accommodate 20 million containers annually until it is completely completed by 2045. The project would place Tanzania as a regional economic powerhouse.

After Kenya and Ethiopia, Tanzania will become the third country in East Africa to start enjoying modern rail services. Kenya was the first country in the region to begin the construction of the SGR route, completing more than 500 km between Mombasa and Nairobi, and also inaugurating its passenger services.

The Government is building a new electric railway line using the domestic capital of Dar es Salaam – Morogoro – Dodoma, some 700 km north. Both projects span a distance of approximately 2,707 km, with three branches from Dar es salaam – Tabora – Kigoma (1,251 km); Tabora – Mwanza (379 km) and Kaliua – Mpanda (210 km).

The project is intended to improve freight and passenger transport in the central corridor. Time and freight are expected to be reduced for freight bound for neighboring countries such as Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and the DRC.

The Government is initiating a project to increase the depth of 7 acres from the present 8 meters to 15 meters. The expansion would allow the Port to receive larger vessels capable of holding up to 19,000 containers.

The project will be completed by the end of 2020, allowing the Tanzania Port Authority (TPA) to raise the capacity of the container to 28 million tonnes per year from currently about 20 million containers. The port will be able to accommodate ships more than 304 meters from the present 204 meters.

The LNG project worth USD 30billion has become the most valuable project in the region. Once completed, the LNG plant, is expected to contribute about 7% towards the country’s economic growth.

The project is part of the program to improve the infrastructure of the East African country. It’s going to be located in Msalato, 12 km from Dodoma. This will include a passenger terminal, a runway and associated facilities.

The new airport project, which will take approximately four years to construct, will have a capacity of 1 million passengers per year and will have a runway of just over 2 km in length. Project funding The funding package includes a USD 198.6 million loans from the AfDB, USD 23.52 million from the African Development Fund and USD 50 million in co-financing from China’s Africa Rising Together Fund operated by the AfDB.