AfDB Approves USD 245 Million Loan for Tanzania Road Project

4 December 2009
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African Development Bank (Abidjan)
press release

Tunis — The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional window of the African Development bank Group (AfDB) Group, approved on 2 December 2009 in Tunis, a USD 245 million (152 million UA*) loan to finance a road sector support project in Tanzania. This funding constitutes 66% of the total project coast estimated at USD 371 million (UA 230 million).

The Road Sector Support Project I comprise civil works for upgrading to bitumen standard, the Iringa-Dodoma road (260km) and the Namtumbo-Tunduru road (193km). It also involves the strengthening of the Tanzania National Roads Agency (TANROADS) management capacity, the restructuring of the Ministry of Communications and Transport in Zanzibar as well as efforts to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis.

The project will support the country's economic and social development programs through efficient and cost-effective movement of people and goods and improve access to markets and social services for the communities in the project areas, with a view to reducing poverty.

The two roads are part of the regional corridor and will improve cross-border trade with neighbouring countries as well as enhance tourism and regional integration.

When completed, the Iringa-Dodoma Road will link up with the Central Corridor which connects the Dar-es- Salaam port to Rwanda, Burundi and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It will complement the proposed Isaka-Kigali railway line currently under study.

The Iringa-Dodoma road is an important link to three corridors - the North-South Corridor, the SADC (South African Development Community) Regional Trunk Road Network and the Trans-Africa Highway from Cape Town to Cairo, designed to link up southern African countries with eastern and northern Africa.

The North-South Corridor project was approved in April 2009 by SADC, EAC (East African Community) and COMESA (Common Market for East and South Africa) as a priority development project to enhance intra-regional trade and promote integration of the three regional economic communities.

* 1 Unit of Account (UA) = 1.61018 United States Dollars (USD) as of 4 December 2009

Contacts

Lotfi Madani

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