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PUBLISHED ON March 21st, 2016

TZ seeks Sh22 tr from Indian financiers for major projects

In Summary:
The money is sought from Exim Bank of India, the Indian government’s other sources and from investors in the Asian nation through their Confederation of Indian Industry.

New Delhi. Tanzania seeks a staggering $10.355 billion (about Sh22.5 trillion on the prevailing exchange rate) from various financiers in India as East Africa’s second largest economy seeks to fine-tune its infrastructure and put the country on the right footing to meet its development goals.

The money, according to a report released at the ongoing 11th Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) – Export Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership – is sought for 22 projects.

The money is sought from Exim Bank of India, the Government of India’s other own sources as well as from investors in the Asian nation through their CII. This is done in the hope that certain projects can be implemented and managed under the Public-Private Partnership arrangement.

A document, released jointly by the Exim Bank of India chairman and managing director, Mr Yaduvendra Mathur and CII President, Mr Sumit Mazumder and the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, General (rtd) Vijay Kumar Singh, among the various distinguished guests, shows that the National Housing Corporation (NHC) requires the highest amount of funding from Indian sources.

A breakdown of the money shows that NHC alone requires a total of $6.2 billion (about Sh13.5 trillion on the prevailing exchange rate) in funding from various financiers within India’s $2 trillion economy.

The amount is sought for financing of five mega projects, including the Kawe Satellite City Project. “Kawe Satellite City Project comprises of an area covering 241 acres. It is expected to be one of the most attractive and highly developed satellite centres in Dar es Salaam by virtue of being the only remaining largest underdeveloped standing piece of land within 10km from the Dar es Salaam Central Business District,” reads the document.

NHC requires a total of $2.2 billion (about Sh4.8 trillion) funding for the project. Similarly, NHC is seeking another $1 billion (about Sh2.2 trillion) to develop another satellite City at a 293-acre land at Usa River which is close to the famous David Jones gold course.

In the same vein, NHC is also looking for another $1 billion to finance what it terms as Safari City project. Similarly, another $1 billion is sought in funding for NHC’s Salama Creek Project which is located at Kigamboni in Dar es Salaam, covering an area of 199 acres. A similar amount is being sought for NHC’s Morocco Square.

“Morocco Square is located in an area of medium to high-end residential, commercial and mixed development space with various social and economic activities,” the document reads.

It could not however be immediately established whether India has a hand in financing the ongoing construction of NHC’s Morocco Square.

The Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) comes second in the amount of funds that is sought for financing various projects from India.

Like the Morocco Square, Tanzania kicked off a project of upgrading berths 1-7 at the Port of Dar es Salaam with a $596 million (about Sh1.3 trillion on the prevailing exchange rate) mid last year, thanks to financing support from the World Bank, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development and TradeMark Africa.

The ongoing work entails deepening and strengthening of berths 1-7, the dredging of the entrance channel as well as turning basin in the port.

Interestingly, the same projects have not yet been deleted from India’s list as a document, unveiled here yesterday, shows that Tanzania is still seeking $500 million to increase water depth for the berths from the current 10 metres to 12 metres.

Source: The Citizen

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of TradeMark Africa.

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