Latest news with #JohnMagufuli
Business Insider
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
East Africa's longest bridge nears launch as Tanzania wraps $260 million project
Spanning 3.2 kilometers across Lake Victoria, the bridge will officially open to traffic on June 19, 2025, with Tanzanian President, Samia Suluhu Hassan expected to lead the inauguration, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa announced during a tour of the site. The Minister for Works, Abdallah Ulega, hailed the project as a flagship achievement of the Sixth Phase Government, emphasizing its strategic importance for national development. ' The JP Magufuli Bridge stands as a powerful symbol of our country's capacity to mobilize domestic resources for transformative infrastructure, ' Ulega stated. ' It will ease travel between Kigongo and Busisi, reduce dependence on ferry transport, and unlock the vast economic potential of the Lake Zone.' The bridge replaces a long-standing reliance on ferries, which often required up to three hours to cross the lake due to boarding delays and safety risks. Its completion is expected to significantly reduce travel time, improve safety, and enhance the movement of goods and people across the region. Named in honor of the late President John Magufuli, the project symbolizes both his infrastructural legacy and Tanzania's long-term commitment to regional development. The John Magufuli Bridge In 2019, the government of Tanzania, under former President John Magufuli, contracted a consortium of two Chinese state-owned engineering and construction companies to design and build this transport infrastructure project. The two firms are China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and China Railway 15th Bureau (CR15B) but the construction was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bridge was earlier named the Kigongo-Busisi Bridge, but was later renamed in honor of former President Magufuli, who launched the project before his death in 2021. Funded entirely with over TZS 700 billion in domestic resources, the project is one of Tanzania's most ambitious infrastructure achievements to date, according to The Citizen. It connects the towns of Kigongo and Busisi and forms a crucial link in a broader 90-kilometre highway network connecting Usagara, Sengerema, and Geita—an area rich in economic activity, particularly mining.
Zawya
27-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Tanzania: World Bank injects $200mln for Dodoma transport upgrade
The World Bank has approved a $200 million loan to upgrade Dodoma's transport infrastructure, supporting Tanzania's push to transform its administrative capital into a commercial hub. The funds will kick-start the Dodoma Integrated and Sustainable Transport (DIST) project, aimed at improving roads and public transport. The initiative seeks to open economic opportunities for the city's rapidly expanding population, which is now growing at 6.4 percent a year, nearing one million residents in 2023. Once a dusty township, Dodoma's prominence rose in 2016 when the late President John Magufuli began relocating government operations from Dar es Salaam, implementing a 1973 resolution during the tenure of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. Today, nearly all key government agencies are headquartered in Dodoma, accelerating urban expansion. Since 2000, the city's built-up area has grown from 11 square kilometres to 60 square kilometres in 2024, straining resources for infrastructure and services. Despite its administrative importance, Dodoma lags behind economically. As of September 2024, its per capita GDP stood at Tsh1.9 million ($714), significantly lower than Dar es Salaam's Tsh5.74 million ($2,157), according to data from the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics. The World Bank, through its International Development Association (IDA), projects that DIST will benefit over half of Dodoma's residents, create 10,000 new jobs by 2030 and boost the city's economic output by at least two percent. In addition to roads and public transport, the project will enhance pedestrian walkways and cycling lanes in the central business district and suburbs. Implementation of the DIST project will involve several government agencies, including the Tanzania National Roads Agency, the Land Transport Regulatory Authority, the Tanzania Rural and Urban Roads Agency and the Dodoma City Council. © Copyright 2022 Nation Media Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
