(Ecofin Agency) – With the major port and rail projects currently under way, Tanzania is also combining the development of the road network in order to build an integrated transport system.
An agreement was signed on Sunday August 14, 2022 between the Tanzanian Rural and Urban Roads Agency (TARURA) and ten local companies to build and upgrade several roads in rural areas. This marks the start of a series of similar projects planned for the 2022/2023 financial year, covering a road network of 33,091 km and which will require an investment of 33,091 billion Tanzanian shillings (about $142 million).
The projects listed in 969 contracts according to Innocent Bashungwa, Tanzanian minister in charge of regional administration and local communities, concern among others the asphalting of 424 km of roads, the renovation of 11,074 km with gravel, the construction of 269 bridges, and the maintenance of a network of 21,593 km.
Subject to generally heavy rainfall that can sometimes turn into natural disasters, Tanzania is sometimes led to make more substantial investments to maintain its road infrastructure. For the past fiscal year, the Tanzanian parliament allocated a budget of nearly $172.54 million for road maintenance.