THE CITIZEN, TANZANIA
There’s a glimmer of hope at last for Dar es Salaam drivers: The Japanese government has donated $13 million in a bid to reduce the city’s traffic gridlocks. The money will be spent to build overpasses at key road junctions.
Minister for Works Dr. John Magufuli said the city was searching for an engineer for the project. “We expect that by mid-June we will have obtained an engineer from among the bidders,” he said. “Our major aim is to end traffic jams in the city.”
In the 2014-2015 budget, the Works Ministry will spend $14 million on ending traffic jams in Dar es Salaam. The minister told Parliament in 2014 that at least 109 kilometers of the city’s roads would be paved. The project, he said, would cover all feeder roads that could enable residents to reach their destinations without using main roads.
Another $33.8 million will be spent on the interchange road project in Ubungo, a district in western Dar es Salaam.
A 2013 study by the Journal of Management and Sustainability, a Canadian publication, found that traffic jams in Dar es Salaam resulted in an economic loss of $207.5 million annually. Those affected include the owners of commuter buses that must pay extra for fuel and employers who lose out on employee productivity due to long commutes.