WORKS Ministry Permanent Secretary, Ambassador Hubert Mrango, has directed the Tanzania Electrical, Mechanical and Electronics Services Agency (TAMESA) to establish zonal offices to facilitate the agency's operations countrywide.

Mr Mrango said in Dar es Salaam on Friday that the TAMESA repairs about 600 vehicles per month at its workshops in the city, saying the agency's customers are both individuals and the government.

The Permanent Secretary was speaking during the signing of an agreement between TAMESA and Songoro Marine Transport on the purchase of a pontoon to ferry people between Kahunda and Maisome Island in Lake Victoria.

"The pontoon was initiated by President Jakaya Kikwete for the people of Sengerema during the general elections in 2010," said the Permanent Secretary. Mr Mrango, who was the guest of honour at the event, advised the agency to embark on public education on the agency's operations, saying despite of good job the agency was not known to a good number of the public.

"The agency has helped the government to save a lot of money by servicing vehicles owned by different public organizations," he said. TAMESA General Manager, Ms Marcellina Magesa, said the Songoro Marine Transport would build the pontoon at the cost of 800m/- , saying the pontoon would be handed over to the agency in December 2013.

"The local company won the international competitive tender process which was announced in the newspapers," she said. Ms Magesa said Tamesa will cooperate with the Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (SUMATRA) to ensure that the pontoon meets the International Maritime Organization (IMO) standards.

She pointed out that the pontoon with capacity to carry 85 tonnes in addition to ten vehicles and 300 passengers will facilitate transport between Kahunda and Maisome Islands on Lake Victoria in Mwanza Region.