Dar es Salaam — TANZANIA is intensifying efforts to mobilise large-scale private investment through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) as it prepares to implement its Fourth Five-Year Development Plan, a strategy that will require unprecedented levels of private capital to finance infrastructure and economic transformation.
The Public-Private Partnership Centre (PPPC), under the Ministry of Finance, is launching a new national dialogue platform known as 'PPPC CentreStage', aimed at bringing together policymakers, investors, academics and development partners to examine how PPPs can support the country's next development phase.
The first dialogue will be held on March 7, 2026 at the University of Dar es Salaam and will be officiated by Kitila Mkumbo, Minister of State in the President's Office responsible for Planning and Investment.
The dialogue series will be held monthly and focus on different sectors as the government seeks to align policy thinking with implementation of the new development plan. PPPC Executive Director David Kafulila said the discussions are intended to build a shared understanding of the scale of the country's development assignment and ensure stakeholders remain aligned as Tanzania accelerates its economic transformation.
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"A modern economy cannot rely only on assessments after projects are completed,"Mr Kafulila said.
"It requires continuous assessment of the assignment itself, so that implementation stays aligned with national objectives." He said PPPs should be viewed as a broader economic ecosystem involving government institutions, private investors, businesses, development partners and the public.
"Alignment in thinking is as important as alignment in execution," Mr Kafulila said.
"That is why these dialogue series are important if we are to move at the speed required by national development goals." The discussions come as Tanzania prepares to implement the Fourth Five-Year Development Plan (FYDP IV) covering the period 2026/27 to 2030/31.
The plan will require an estimated 477tri/- (190 billion US dollars) to finance national development priorities more than four times the cost of the current development plan. Private capital is expected to finance about 70 per cent of the total investment requirement, equivalent to around 334tri/-.
Based on historical trends, PPPs could account for roughly 51 per cent of that private investment, meaning Tanzania would need to mobilise about 170tri/- through PPP arrangements over five years. That translates to roughly 34tri/- per year, about eight times the annual PPP mobilisation target under the current development plan.
In dollar terms, the PPP requirement over five years is estimated at about 68 billion US dollars, roughly equivalent to Tanzania's entire gross domestic product in 2022. Analysts say the scale of financing required makes PPPs central to the country's development strategy.
Veteran PPP negotiator Joseph Simbakalia, who established Tanzania's first PPP unit at the National Development Corporation, said institutional reforms will be necessary if the country hopes to meet those targets.
"To achieve the country's PPP objectives, procurement systems must be adapted so they do not slow down implementation," Simbakalia said.
He added that strong negotiation capacity will also be essential to secure favourable PPP agreements.
"Investing in strong contract negotiation capacity is critical," he said.
"At the same time, economic nationalism and patriotism must guide how we structure PPP agreements." Former Controller and Auditor General Ludovic Utoah said legal and regulatory frameworks must evolve to support complex PPP financing structures.
"It is important that policies and laws remain friendly to the realities of a modern economy," Utoah said. He also emphasised the need for stronger financial reporting standards for PPP projects. "There must be proper systems for reporting and auditing PPP investments," he said, adding that collaboration between the PPP Centre and the National Board of Accountants and Auditors could help strengthen transparency.
Beyond regulatory frameworks, experts say technical capacity to prepare bankable projects will determine whether Tanzania can attract the level of private investment required. Mr Augustino Saibull, Director of Development and Appraisal at the PPPC, said strong political support for PPPs creates an opportunity to accelerate project development.
"There is strong political will supporting PPP implementation," Saibull said.
"But the most important pillar is the technical capacity to prepare projects that investors can finance." He said project preparation expertise is essential for translating policy ambitions into actual investments. Economists also point to the role of international investment strategy in supporting Tanzania's PPP ambitions.
Mr Amran Bhuzohera, senior economist at the Tanzania Investment and Consulting Group, said strengthening economic diplomacy will help the country attract stable investment flows.
"Strengthening economic diplomacy and investing in geostrategy can help Tanzania manage geo-economic shocks that could otherwise slow PPP momentum," Mr Bhuzohera said.
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Such shocks, he said, can include global financial volatility, geopolitical tensions or sudden shifts in investment flows. Despite the scale of the challenge, officials say Tanzania has already begun building institutional capacity to support PPP development.
Within two years of its establishment, the Public-Private Partnership Centre has mobilised PPP investments worth 6.9tri/-, according to data from the centre. That translates to about 3.3tri/- per year, roughly 1.3 billion Us dollars annually.
According to the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance, the global average PPP mobilisation in emerging markets similar to Tanzania is about 956 million US dollars annually, suggesting the country is already performing above the average for developing PPP markets. The PPP Centre has also expanded technical expertise within the country.
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The number of internationally recognised Certified PPP Professionals (CP3P), accredited under global standards supported by the World Bank, has increased from fewer than two specialists when the centre was established to more than 40 today.
The growing pool of expertise will help accelerate project preparation while strengthening domestic capacity. The centre has also conducted training programmes across local government authorities nationwide and identified more than 400 potential projects that could be developed through PPP frameworks. For Kafulila, the scale of Tanzania's development ambitions leaves little alternative but to pursue aggressive investment mobilisation strategies.
"There is no alternative," he said. "If Tanzania is to achieve its long-term development vision and the goals of the Fourth Five-Year Development Plan, we must undertake this assignment." The PPPC CentreStage dialogue series, he said, is designed to ensure the country's PPP ecosystem moves in a coordinated direction. The inaugural session on March 7 will also be broadcast live on ITV Tanzania, Jambo TV and Global TV Online, reflecting the government's effort to widen public engagement in shaping Tanzania's investment future.
With development financing needs rising sharply, the dialogue marks the start of what policymakers describe as a critical national conversation on how Tanzania will mobilise the partnerships needed to fund its next stage of economic growth.
· Dr Bravious Kahyoza is a Financial Modelling & Valuation Analyst and Certified Public-Private Partnerships Professional
