President Suluhu praises AfDB's contribution in improving Tanzania’s roads

The joint Tanzania-Burundi-DR Congo Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) Project is another example of transformative projects funded by the Bank Group.

Tanzanian President Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan has lauded the strong partnership with the African Development Bank Group, praising its contribution to the improvement of Tanzania’s roads.

At the celebrations to mark 60 years of the Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which created the United Republic of Tanzania in 1964, President Suluhu addressed the president of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, in recognition of the Bank’s leading role in the country’s infrastructure development, saying, “I have invited the Bank president for a special purpose”, calling for more funding for the road infrastructure. She also highlighted the importance of road maintenance as the current heavy rains have damaged the country’s road network.

The recently completed Road Sector Support Project stands out as one of Tanzania’s key road projects. It has dramatically reduced travel times in the project areas, cutting them from an average of eight hours to just three hours. This key road initiative, linking the South, Central, and Northern regions of the country, involved the construction of 844 km of road network. Funded over two phases to the tune of $460 million by the African Development Fund—the Bank Group’s concessional window for low income countries—, the project facilitates regional trading, reduces transportation costs and enhances access to markets for local farmers, significantly boosting economic and agricultural development.

The joint Tanzania-Burundi-DR Congo Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) Project is another example of transformative projects funded by the Bank Group. In addition to $696 million recently approved by its Board for Burundi and Tanzania  for the construction of 651 kilometers on the Tanzania-Burundi railway line, the Bank is also mobilizing  up to $3.2 billion from various partners for the project. It showcased the project to commercial banks, development financial institutions, export credit agencies and institutional investors during the Africa Investment Forum held in December 2023 in Marrakech. The project will be connected to Tanzania’s existing railway network, providing access to the port of Dar es Salaam (400 kilometers already built during the first phase of the project). The construction of this railway will allow Burundi to intensify the exploitation of nickel in the country’s Musongati mining fields. Burundi has the 10^th largest deposits of nickel in the world.  

The Bank’s active portfolio in Tanzania consists of 27 operations with a total value of $3.64 billion. This is mainly concentrated on infrastructure development which accounts for 86% of Bank commitments in transport, energy, water and sanitation. Transport accounts for 68% of total commitments, followed by energy and finance at 14% and 6%, respectively. Water and sanitation account for 3% as well as agriculture, while social, communication, urban development, and multisector account for a combined share of 6% of the active portfolio. In 2023 the Bank approved six operations for Tanzania amounting to $1.3 billion.

Dr. Adesina attended the celebrations held Friday, 26 April, at Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam city, among other high-level guests who included the Presidents of Kenya, Burundi, Zambia, Comoros, Somalia, DRC, and Namibia, the Prime Minister of Mozambique and  the Vice-Presidents of Uganda and Malawi.

In her remarks, President Samia commended the unity between Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which she said had contributed to Tanzania moving from a low-income to lower-middle income status. “We are hopeful that with such unity, we will move to the even higher levels. Let us continue to work hard at it for this to happen,” she said.

Dr. Adesina was accompanied by the Bank’s Regional Director General for East Africa Nnenna Nwabufo, Country Manager for Tanzania Patricia Laverley, among others.