Sh56 billion to be spent to ease congestion
Construction will start after this rainy season and is expected to be completed within a year.
The project will involve Goba-Mbezi 7km, Tangi Bovu-Goba 9km, Kimara Baruti-Msewe 2.6km, Kilungule- External 3km, Kifuri- Kinyerezi 4.km and Tabata Dampo-Kigogo 1.6km.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam yesterday shortly after the signing, Tanroads Director General Eng. Patrick Mfugale said the project will involve two local companies, the first being Estim Construction Co. which will construct four roads.
Hari Singh & Sons will construct two other roads, he said, noting that feeder roads will be constructed to tarmac level to reduce traffic congestion afflicting city residents.
Eng. Mfugale said that during the three months of the rainy season contractors will be making preparations for the work as per the terms of the contract.
“Most drivers prefer the major roads built to tarmac level and avoid dirt earth roads,” he said, elaborating that this increases the congestion, thus the need to construct feeder roads to ease the pressure on major roads.
The government through Tanroads has set out plans to take out some roads maintained by municipal councils and upgrade them to curb the congestion.
In another development Eng. Mfugale said the construction of Kinyerezi bridge with 40 meters has already started at a cost of Tsh2.3bn and is expected be completed before next October.
He urged companies that won the tenders to ensure the roads are constructed to tarmac level as well as complete the project on time as the agency will not prolong the scheduled time.
Dar es Salaam roads are mostly congested especially during rush hours as there are few major roads tocity centre and connecting neighbourhoods.
Economists maintain that traffic congestion is a growing problem as it continues to grow faster than the overall capacity of the country’s transportation system.
The resulting traffic slowdowns can have a wide range of negative impacts on people and on business, including impacts on air quality (due to additional vehicle emissions), quality of life (due to personal time delays), and business activity (due to the additional costs and reduced service areas for workforce, supplier and customer markets).
The Journal of Management and Sustainability published by the Canadian Center of Science and Education in 2012 stated that due to traffic jams a substantial portion of working hours have to be left in the streets which is indirectly an adverse impact on the economy.
Another study conducted recently on the city’s congestion and published by this newspaper late last year pegged total congestion costs in the Dar es Salaam’s urbanized areas at Sh 411bn/- annually with commuter bus (daladala) owners the biggest losers, followed by employers.
The study points out that ‘daladala’ owners were losing around Sh 265bn/- in income and Sh 25.55bn/- in fuel costs yearly, while employers were losing Sh 120.4bn/- in the same period, being wages paid to workers who are not working because they are trapped in traffic jams.
The loss is more than three times (3.09) the Sh 133bn/- that was misappropriated from the External Payment Arrears (EPA) account operated by the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), known as ‘EPA Scandal’ which analysts said could have constructed 24,000 classrooms or 19,000 houses for teachers in the country.
With the construction of 13 feeder roads and the implementation of Bus Rapid Transit ( BRT) the city’s congestion level is likely to be eased.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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