East African Business Week

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA-The Government of Tanzania needs a tune of $340 million per annum to 2015 for the expansion, upgrading and maintenance of transport infrastructure. This will is projected to grow the sector by at least 12% over the years.
 According to the new Transport Sector Program developed by the government proposes the investment of $340 million per annum hopes it will not only expand the infrastructure, but also provide employment and increase revenue to the Government.
 The Government is confident that upon completion of the programme the country will raise the per capita income from the current US$270 to 2,700 and thereby becoming a middle income country.
The former Chief Executive of the Tanzania National Roads Agency (Tanroads),  F. Y. Addo-Abedi, in one of his papers he said that the program would support the national transport sector objective of providing an efficient and cost-effective transport sector that supports all sections of the population and sectors of the economy.
 The programme is intended to support the achievement of the basic strategic goals which include the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, UN-MDG by 2015.
  Last week in Dar es Salaam in the Minister for Transport, Omar Nundu, said the Tanzania transport sector is characterized by high cost but low quality. He stated that in a speech to the national conference on logistics conference whose main theme was: "50 years of transport in Tanzania - economic Perspective: past, present and future'.
The speech was read out by his Deputy Minister Engineer Dr Athuman Mfutakamba said "Without a safe, reliable, effective, efficient and fully integrated transport infrastructure and operations Tanzania cannot attain the required socio-economic development".  Nundu cited some of the contributing factors as the existence of high backlog of infrastructure maintenance and rehabilitation; low network; inadequate institutional arrangements, laws, regulations and procedures which are not consistent or compatible to each other.
"This situation is not conducive for investment and hence growth of the sector, … which is characterized by inadequate capacity caused by low level investment in resources and low level of enforcement of safety and environmental; sustainability and insensitive to gender issues," the Minister said.
However, Minister Nundu assured the public that the Government was committed to address transport problems by enhancing more access to transport services, lowering costs for offering transport services and the development of transport infrastructure which is secure and environmentally sustainable.
 Tanzania has a total classified road networks at 86,472 kms based on the Road Act 2007. The Ministry of Works, through Tanroads, manages the national road network of about 33,012 kms comprising of 12,786 kms of trunk and 20,226 kms of regional roads. The remaining network of about 53,460 kms of urban, district and feeder roads is under the responsibility of the Prime Minister's Office Regional Administration and Local Government.
 Road density in Tanzania is low at 55 kilometres per 1000 square kilometers and this is partly understandable given Tanzania's large land mass. Only 28% of the rural population lives within 2 kms on an all weather road and about 40% of the trunk roads are paved.