By Our Correspondent,
DAR ES SALAAM Tanzania
A Turkish construction firm on Tuesday secured a lucrative deal to build a 368-kilometer (229-mile) section of standard gauge railway line linking the largest port city in Tanzania with the hinterland, in a move highlighting confidence in its work.
The deal, which is expected to cost $1.9
billion is part of three out of four deals the company has so far clinched from
the Tanzanian government as part of its broader push to finish a
1,219-kilometer (757-mile) railway line which is expected to unlock trade
potential with the landlocked countries of Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda.
Officiating the contract signing ceremony
between Tanzania Railways Corporation head Masanja Kadogosa and Turkish
construction firm Yapi Merkezi Deputy Chair Erden Arioglu on Tuesday, President
Samia Hassan said the 368-km stretch from Makutupora in the capital city Dodoma
to Tabora would be built with borrowed money.
"We will find friendly loan facilities and
the best ways to get loans. We won't get this money from levies or from
domestic taxes," she said.
The project is part of the central corridor
which will connect Uganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania
and provide access to Indian ocean for all related.
Kadogosa said the stretch will link Makutopora
with the historical town of Tabora, in the country's central region and unlock
potential for trade.
According to Yapi Merkezi officials, the
railway line will establish a safe and reliable transportation between Dar es
Salaam and other parts of the country.
After its completion, the railway is expected
to bolster the overall economy of Tanzania especially in the field of trade and
tourism, officials said.
According to Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa, the use of rails instead of road transport will serve to reduced costs and save roads from destruction by heavy vehicles and conserve the environment.
President Hassan used the platform to dismiss critics of
government borrowing, affirming her administration's intent to source for more
loans for infrastructure development.
The Head of State said concerns about the
country’s burgeoning national debt were misplaced, noting that critics were
losing sight of the ultimate benefits of the critical infrastructure.
“As I said the investment so far is Sh14.7
trillion so if we do not carry on with the construction and complete it, the
money we have invested will be worthless. So, either way we will have to
continue borrowing… we will look for simple, effective ways to borrow,” said
President Hassan.
Her defense came hot in the heels of Speaker of
National Assembly Job Ndugai's attack on what he described as insatiable
appetite for loans by the government.
The Speaker appeared to criticize continued
government borrowing of foreign loans for local development projects.
"We have to question whether this trend is
sustainable ....we risk the country being auctioned owing to its
indebted," warned Ndugai in his uncharacteristic criticism of the
government.
According to Ndugai, Tanzania would rather
raise domestic taxes to fund its own development budget, arguing at Sh70
trillion, the national debt was a huge and dangerous burden.
The Speaker made reference to recently
introduced mobile tax as an example, arguing that Tanzanians must be ready to
shoulder the cost of their own development and not rely on the expensive
foreign loans. He spoke at a different event in Dodoma.
But in her indirect response, President Hassan noted: "There is no way.. how we can raise this money through mobile money transaction levies or the taxes that we collect internally, we must borrow to complete this project.” She said adding that there are efforts to stall the country over the debts. - Africa
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