The Boards of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved, on 10 December 2025, the diversion of $98 million in savings from the completed Transport Sector Support Program (TSSP) to finance the Bulamata-Uvinza Road Upgrading Project (Lot B) in western Tanzania.
The project has a total cost of $129 million. The Bank Group will provide $98.17 million, including $22.64 million from the African Development Fund, its concessional window. It entails an upgrade of the Bulamata-Msombwe road to bitumen standard, and construction of a 250-metre bridge over the Malagarasi River, as well as a rail overpass and connecting roads. It will also deliver community infrastructure including markets, solar lighting, boreholes, and parking areas.
The upgraded road will link to the 342.9-kilometre Tabora-Koga-Mpanda Road, and create a corridor from Mpanda District to the Central Corridor railway and the Port of Dar es Salaam. The route is expected to strengthen western Tanzania's access to national markets and expand cross-border trade opportunities with Uganda, Kenya, and South Sudan.
Zerfu Tessema, the Bank's division manager for transport in East Africa, said "closing the remaining gap along this important corridor will improve access to essential services for communities across western Tanzania and boost regional competitiveness. The movement of people and goods will also become faster and safer."
Once complete, the upgraded corridor is expected to cut travel time by more than half, making travel secure and more reliable. Communities along the route will gain better access to schools, health services, and administrative centres - especially during the rainy season.
Improved access to markets for crops such as coffee, bananas, maize, and groundnuts will boost farmer incomes, while enhanced connectivity is anticipated to stimulate the tourism, mining, fisheries and agro-processing sectors across Kigoma and Katavi regions. The project also offers opportunities to advance women's economic empowerment by improving access to employment and markets.
