LAST Sunday, President Jakaya Kikwete and his Kenyan counterpart, President Uhuru Kenyatta, launched the construction of a 90 kilometre Mwatate-Taveta Road in Kenya that will link with Arusha-Taveta to connect the central and northern transport corridors in East Africa.

The launching ceremony marked the beginning of the African Development Bank (AfDB) funded grand road project in the East African region, which is expected to boost trade and spur growth and prosperity in the region.
In Tanzania, we are also expecting launching construction works for the Arusha-Taveta stretch soon. The stretch will involve a four-lane dual carriageway which will connect Arusha City with Holili-Taveta through Moshi Municipality and Himo Township.
The project is also expected to involve the so-called Arusha-bypass. The main objective of connecting the two transport corridors is to enhance interconnectivity in transport in the region through infrastructure development and trade facilitation.
The modernisation of this transport infrastructure is crucial for both national and regional road traffic and sustains economic growth in the area, trade expansion and investment, which are also vital to develop and support a dynamic and robust private sector.
We would therefore like to commend the two leaders for their commitment to make sure the dream to connect the two transport corridors is realised so as to improve trade and boost growth in the region.
In East Africa, the Northern and Central Transport Corridors connect the people of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. These corridors also provide port access to the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Southern Sudan.
We see infrastructure development in the transport corridors is being taken further with construction of standard gauge railway that has already begun in Kenya and is planned to begin soon in Tanzania.
These exciting developments should be taken in the context of other developments aimed at fostering trade in the region, including upgrading of Dar es Salaam port and improvements in the rail transport.
Such improved rail transport will pave the way for the launching of the block trains bound for Uganda and Rwanda via Isaka-Mwanza and to Burundi and DR Congo via Kigoma.
Source: Tanzania Daily

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