Happy Lazaro And Staff Reporter
16 November 2008
Arusha — Construction of the Arusha-Namanga road which supposedly started in July this year is already facing some hitches which may delay completion of the project scheduled for July 2011.
The litany of problems ranges from late release of the first installment of the project money from one of the key financiers of the Tsh 82 billion project to the hordes of marauding robbers who have to be fought off frequently at the three main project camps under construction along the road.
According to the Project Manager Xu Hui of China Geo-Engineering Corporation, the contractors were still waiting to be paid 50 percent of the project's first installment from the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation.
Despite the delay in the release of the funds, by last week the Contractor had already brought on board 40 Chinese Management staff, employed 270 local workers and mobilized about 90 units of heavy construction equipment, dump trucks and vehicles.
Three camps are also under construction and about 90 percent of the main camp near Habari Maalum in Ngaramtoni area is complete. Two other camps are also nearing completion one for engineers and a general facility at Longido, a township about 40 kilometres from the Namanga border post.
Also a total of 14 hectares of land have been cleared to give way to expansion of the road and an 18 km deviation of an all weather road has been constructed and is open for traffic. Survey work of the highway works is also complete.
But as the efforts to construct the 104-kilometre road from Sakina at the outskirts of Arusha to Namanga (Tanzania/Kenya border) are underway, the contractors are experiencing astonishing problems. They have already received three surprise visits from armed robbers.
Tanroads Regional Manager Deusdedith Kakoko told journalists last week theft and robbery in the recently established camps were overwhelming the contractors especially at the camp near the Ngaramtoni area. Robbery is not a strange vice in the area which for unknown reasons is nicknamed Washington D.C.
Only recently when the contractors were contemplating the extent of the theft and robberies confronting them, a key instrument used for the road survey worth about Tsh. 15 million was stolen from the camp. Who did it remains a mystery. Although survey work for the road is reportedly complete, the instrument was still a valuable tool for the project.
Two weeks ago a 2000- metre- pipe roll was stolen from the camp but despite thorough investigations it was not yet found out who stole it. The theft of the roll is a major dent to the project camp located in an arid area which has to be served by pipe water from a far away location in the mountains.
The many other items that had been stolen so far was bad enough experience to the Chinese contractors but they were yet to see and experience the wrath of armed robbers who ply the highway at night and presumably have their detachment bases on the surrounding hills and forests.
On a quiet dark night a few weeks ago, a platoon of seven armed robbers invaded the main camp with the intention of stealing whatever they could lay their hands on, only to find out that the camp now had dozens of occupants who rapidly responded to the invasion and scared the robbers away. Nothing was stolen during the latest robbery attempt.
The Chinese contractors according to Mr Kakoko of Tanroads have worked in many places in Africa and Asia and they have admit that they had never encountered so much theft and robberies in the implementation of their projects. Mr. Kakoko called on the government to provide adequate and effective security to the project camps and operations. He said security was an important element for the project to be realized by 2011.
The full team of the contractors management has already pitched camp at the project area. These include Wang Ruiqi, Project Manager; Hu Pei-giang, Vice project Manager; and Gui Jun, Commercial manager. The team is obviously concerned about the robbery reports but also wary of the Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO).
The contractors claim that TANESCO despite having been paid the necessary costs have not yet shifted poles and the power lines from areas where the road would be expanded to. They claimed that Tanesco was also a stumbling block to the project which will see the road width expanded to 7.0 metres carriageway and 2.0 metres wide shoulders on each side.
Tanesco, however, are not taking that blame lightly. For starters, they categorically denied having been paid by the contractors. They claim the problem was that the Contractor and Tanroads did all the planning including construction of camps without involving Tanesco at early stages. Tanesco's Regional Manager Boniface Njombe told the Arusha Times that when the two stakeholders reached the implementation stage that was when they sought Tanesco's input.
"An issue like this should have had Tanesco involved from the early stages so that we could be prepared to play our role. They told us to relocate the poles and lines on October 28, this year. We also need some time to do our own surveys and implement what is supposed to be done," said Mr. Njombe.
Power poles that would need to be shifted away from the existing road cover the area from Sakina to Oldonyo Sambu. The manager said Tanesco was prepared and willing to give the contractor all the required support and have the work done as fast as possible.
The project is also facing problems of water as it is being executed in an arid area of northern Tanzania.
The road , an initiative of the East African Community , is funded by the African Development Bank embedding other financiers like the African Development Fund, the Nigerian Trust Fund, and the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation. Consultant engineers are J. Burrow (South Africa) Pty Ltd.
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