Kigamboni bridge, the first of its kind in East Africa, that connects Dar es Salaam’s central business district and Kigamboni area across the Kurasini creek is scheduled for official opening this morning.

The 680-metres long cable-stayed bridge is opened hardly two days after President John Magufuli laid the foundation stone for the construction of the magnificent TAZARA flyover in the city on Saturday.

The grand projects are just a fraction of more coming infrastructure projects that the government says is determined to develop in order to harness the potential of cities as the engines of economic growth.

The World Bank, in its latest analysis of Africa’s economic trends, Africa’s Pulse, says the rapid urban growth that Africa is undergoing, if well managed, can spur economic growth and productivity through boosting incentives for investors and making cities more livable for poor and middle-class residents.

The Breton Woods Institution, though acknowledging urbanisation as a source of dynamism that can enhance productivity and increase economic integration, decries Africa’s failure to exploit the potential economic benefits.

Unfortunately, African cities are neither delivering agglomeration economies nor reaping urban productivity benefits…they instead suffer from high food, housing and transport costs,” says the institution.

Coordination failures, poorly designed policies, weak property rights, according to the analysis are some of the factors that lower economic density in African cities, raising urban costs, which impede development. The report estimates urban population in Africa at 472 million, the number that will double over the next 25 years, creating huge demand for productive jobs, affordable housing and efficient infrastructure.

Amid plummeting oil and commodity prices, the report authors propose expansive cities as one of the generic capitals for urgent economic diversification in Africa.

“The growth of cities will be central to development in Africa and elsewhere …cities must become more livable for their residents by offering services, amenities and housing for the poor and middle class,” says the institution in its 64-page report that puts Tanzania among the three East African countries whose economies grew strongly in 2015 despite the overall slowdown in economic activities in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Source: All Africa

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