PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan announced on Tuesday the government will borrow additional money necessary to complete the construction work of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project rather than depending on levies or other internal revenue collections....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
She said shortly after witnessing the signing of a US$1.98bn construction deal between Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC) and a Turkish firm, Yarp Merkez for the 368km long Standard Gauge Railway stretching from Makutopora to Tabora.
According to the President, there have been underground efforts to bring the development projects to a standstill, however, she said “none of such efforts” will succeed. Tanzania has been implementing a stretch of development projects ranging from SGR to revamping of the national flag carrier to the construction of a 2115megawatts hydroelectric power project.
“There isn’t any developed country that does not borrow. We will borrow to make sure our projects are completed,” she said, adding that most of the concessional loans accessed vary up to 20 years–a period that could allow the necessary returns.
With the current trends, the president said it’s high time that the country considers linking the neighboring land-locked countries to the speed train.
So far Tanzania has injected over 14trn/- into the new railway infrastructure and the Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC) Director-General believes passenger trains would be the only means of public transport in the next 40 to 50 years due to an expected surge in population across the country.
“This means we must put in place the necessary infrastructures especially in cities to accommodate the rapid population growth and the demand for transport facilities,” he said.
