WASHINGTON, June 30, 2011 — The World Bank’s Board of Directors today approved an additional financing of US$ 59.0 million to support the improvement of Tanzania’s transport infrastructure.
This is in addition to the original amount of US$270 million that was approved for the Transport Sector Support Project (TSSP) in May 2010.
“We are pleased to continue supporting the transport sector, which remains an impediment to accelerating growth and welfare improvement in Tanzania,” said John Murray McIntire, World Bank Country Director for Tanzania, Uganda, and Burundi. “This additional financing is proof of our shared commitment to support improvement of transport infrastructure as a key objective to achieve sustainable growth in the country,” he added.
The additional financing will help finance the costs of the rehabilitation and extension of the Zanzibar International Airport taxiways and apron, which would ultimately cater for a substantial increase in passenger traffic and aviation safety and stimulate tourism - the mainstay of the archipelago’s economy.
The air traffic at the airport is expected to grow from today’s 0.5 million passengers to 1.3 million by 2030. This increasing traffic coupled with the deteriorated condition of the taxiways and apron makes their rehabilitation and expansion very urgent.
The additional financing will also be used for the rehabilitation of the jetty on Songo Songo Island in southern Tanzania. The rehabilitation of the jetty is not only an essential transport facility to the Songo Songo Island but also a recommended social mitigation measure for the closed World Bank financed Songo Songo gas extraction project.
“The additional financing to the TSSP is important in that the project supports a three years’ slice of the 10 year Tanzania Transport Sector Investment Program through the rehabilitation and upgrading of priority transport infrastructure,” said Negde Lewi, the World Bank’s Team Leader for the project.
The World Bank Group currently supports 25 national projects and 5 regional projects in Tanzania with a committed IDA portfolio of more than US$3.2 billion. The IDA portfolio covers a range of sectors including agriculture, transport, energy, urban infrastructure, environment, water and sanitation, public sector reform, financial and private sector development, health, education and community development.
