Arusha — The Arusha City Authority is planning to establish a special tourist centre that would include Hippo among other animals at Suye hill in Kimandolu ward.

"We are planning to covert Mount Suye into a tourist site," said the City Mayor, Mr. Gaudence Lyimo adding that the environment at the foot of the hill is suitable for aquatic life that would attract animals like Hippos," he told the media in Arusha city recently.

"The idea here is to plant some wildlife species that are safe to be kept near humans in order to have a recreation area within the city where local residents as well as visiting tourists could go to relax," said the Mayor.

Mr Lyimo explained that Arusha is regarded as a tourist town but in reality is just a gateway spot to the Northern Zone's National parks since tourists only go through Arusha as a route to Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara and Mount Kilimanjaro national parks.

"They hardly spend their time in the city," pointed out the mayor adding that the council is working to create its own national park within the city though essentially it may just be a zoo or at best a game sanctuary," he said without giving specific dates when the project starts.

However, roads to the Kimandolu (Suye) hill have already been established and people can now use them to practice mountain climbing for leisure, exercise or warm-up for harder trekking on Kilimanjaro or Mt Meru.

According to Arusha Times, the council is also establishing a botanical garden along the Themi River in town which will provide yet another city-based tourist attraction.

A massive trading complex which will accommodate more than 6000 petty traders in Arusha City is going to be constructed adjacent to the Kilombero market in Levolosi ward.