M a r k e t N e w s
Tanzania: World Bank President Arrives, Set to Kickoff Major Intersection Construction
Posted on : Wednesday, 22nd March 2017
THE World Bank (WB) Group President, Dr Jim Yong Kim, is expected to arrive in the country today for a three-day official visit, in which he will hold talks with President John Magufuli on robust development projects that are expected to be funded by WB.
During his visit, Dr Kim will meet Dr Magufuli to discuss key engagements of the strategic partnership between Tanzania and the World Bank Group.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, tomorrow, Dr Kim is expected to meet Dr Magufuli at the State House in Dar es Salaam and later the two leaders are expected to lay a foundation stone for an interchange at the ever-busy Ubungo junction.
The 177.4bn/- project is likely to interrupt transport modalities within the city for at least 910 days, which is the period earmarked for the construction process. This is due to the reality that Ubungo is one of the busiest road intersections not only in Dar es Salaam, but the whole country, with more than 65,000 vehicles passing through it daily.
The Ubungo road intersection has been described as the main gateway to the country's commercial capital, which houses the busiest seaport used by all six landlocked neighbouring countries - Zambia, Malawi, DR Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda.
According to the statement, the WB president and his host are expected to witness the signing of three agreements, among them the third and fourth phases of the Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit (DART) and the Dar es Salaam Urban Transport Project (DUTP) Other agreements to be signed are the second phase of the Water and Sanitation Project and Tanzania Strategic Cities Project.
This will be Dr Kim's first visit to Tanzania. The partnership between the World Bank Group and the government of Tanzania began in June 1960 when the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank Group's private sector arm, invested $2.8 million in Kilombero Sugar Company.
During his visit, Dr Kim will also get an opportunity to visit Zanaki Primary School in Upanga, which is in a plan to improve the quality of education funded by WB.
The visit by Dr Kim follows another visit in January 2017 by the WB Vice- President for Africa, Mr Makhtar Diop, who participated at the official launch of Bus Rapid Transit which was financed by the World Bank.
Source : allafrica.com
