DODOMA (Tanzania), Nov 3 (NNN-DAILYNEWS) — THE government, through the Tanzania National Roads Agency (TANROADS), has signed 93 contracts worth 868.56bn/- for the construction of emergency roads and bridges that were damaged by El Niño rains and Cyclone Hidaya in various parts of the country.
Speaking after witnessing the signing of the contracts in Dodoma, Minister for Works Innocent Bashungwa urged the contractors involved to work professionally in accordance with the agreed terms, stressing that the government will not hesitate to take action against any contractor who will fail to implement the project as per the agreed terms.
He also called on Tanzanians to disregard claims that construction projects have been halted, saying that the government, through TANROADS, is continuing with the implementation of 87 road projects totalling 3,140.7 kilometres, as welas bridges and airports.
He added that 53.9 bn/- has already been disbursed as initial payments to contractors to commence the implementation of the construction projects.
“These 53.9bn/- were received from the Treasury less than a month ago, thanks to the good work of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, to begin implementation of eight road projects. Just recently, I handed over the construction of the Kyerwa – Omurushaka road (50 kms) to the contractor. If anyone doubts this, they can check on youtube. And yet, people are saying Tanroads is struggling. So, let’s ignore those being used to spread such claims,” said Bashungwa.
He said that 90 per cent of the projects signed will be executed by local contractors as ordered by President Samia to uplift and empower local contractors through execution of various projects.
The minister also said that the 93 signed contracts will be implemented in the regions of Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Geita, Kagera, Kilimanjaro, Manyara, Mara, Mbeya, Morogoro, Mwanza, Njombe, Coast, Rukwa, Ruvuma, Singida, Songwe, Shinyanga, Tanga and Kigoma regions.
For his part, TANROADS Chief Executive Officer Eng Mohamed Besta expressed gratitude to the government for facilitating the availability of the funds, pledging to oversee the implementation of the projects to meet standards and ensure timely completion.
Meanwhile, Dodoma District Commissioner, Jabir Shekimweri, said that various projects in Dodoma are progressing rapidly, including the construction of the Dodoma outer ring road and Msalato International Airport, insisting that no construction work has been halted.
Ushetu Member of Parliament Emmanuel Cherehani, thanked the government for implementing emergency bridge and road projects, with approximately 13bn/- allocated for the construction of permanent bridges and culverts in his constituency. — NNN-DAILYNEWS
