The event will take place during the tour of the WB vice president for Africa Region, Dr Makhtar Diop, who is expected in the country today for a three day visit.

 

The WB vice president will also hold high level discussions with President John Magufuli, the minister of Finance, Dr Phillip Mpango, the Governor of the Bank of Tanzania, Prof Benno Ndulu, including the private sector and civil society.

 

He will also hold a forum with young women and men from various universities in order to get their perspectives on Tanzania's development opportunities.

 

Construction of Phase One of the BRT infrastructure was completed in 2015 and consists of a 21km dedicated trunk lane, five terminals, 27 stations, seven feeder stations, three connector stations with the existing public transport system as well as two bus depots.

 

WB Country Director for Tanzania, Burundi, Somalia and Malawi, Ms Bella Bird, said in a statement that the BRT operations commenced in 2016 after the arrival of buses operated by the U-Dart Company under an interim operator's concession while procurement processes are underway for a full service operator.

 

"The WB is currently supporting 27 national projects amounting to Sh92.3 trillion ($4.2bn) in addition to seven regional operations through which Tanzania accesses Sh1.2 trillion ($551 million) in financing, reaching a total commitment of Sh10.4 trillion ($4.75bn). The bulk of this support (22 per cent) is towards the transport sector, followed by urban development (20 per cent).

Source : allafrica.com