China give 320 bilions for support key water project in Tanzania

Vice President of People’s Republic of China Li Yuanchao and his Tanzanian counterpart Mohammed Gharib Bilal (left) admire various photos of African institutes during the opening of a joint conference of Confucius Institutes in Africa in Dar es Salaam yesterday

Tanzania will get Sh320 billion ($200 million) from China as a soft loan for the construction of the water source at the Kidunda dam that will improve water supply in Dar es Salaam, it was announced Monday evening.

Dar es Salaam Water and Sewerage Authority (Dawasa) signed the $200 million memorandum of understanding with China National Aero Technology International Corporation for the latter to finance the multipurpose Kidunda dam.

The concessional credit will enable construction of the dam, hydro power plant to produce 20MW and supply of clean water to the city of over four million residents, according to details released during a tour by Chinese Vice President Li Luanchao.

The project is expected to be complete in two years, according to Dawasa chief executive officer Archard Mutalemwa. Dar es Salaam authorities have struggled for many years to satisfy demand for the key resource, with many residents of the sprawling metropolitan going without supply.

“We hope this will improve water supply in Dar es Salaam as we also plan to sell excess electricity to Tanesco,” said Mr Mutalemwa.

He said the two had already agreed on the sale of power.

The signing ceremony was held during the official opening of the Tanzania - China Business Forum at the Bank of Tanzania.

Mr Li Yuanchao who is visiting Tanzania for six days starting Saturday and Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda graced the event in which the media was left clueless because the Chinese spoke their language as translation equipment was limited.

Over 170 Chinese businessmen and women are visiting the country and expect to partner with their Tanzanian counterparts during the visit. Mr Pinda invited the Chinese investors as he reiterated the government’s commitment to improve the business environment.

He said, a total of 522 investment projects from China worth $2.49 billion have been registered in Tanzania to date in the areas of manufacturing, tourism, construction and transportation.

He also noted that the value of Tanzania exports to China increased from Sh101.84 billion in 2005 to Sh817.98 billion in 2012 while the imports from China jumped from Sh245.4 billion to Sh1.814 trillion in the same period.