The World Bank Group’s support for Tanzania was reaffirmed after it approved US $130 million (Sh275 billion) to finance the Tanzania Strategic Cities Project (TSCP).
The Tanzania Strategic Cities Project began in 2010 and the project was then expected to cost US $175.5 million (about Sh370 billion).A World Bank statement showed that the US $130 million was in addition to the US $175.5 million. US $163 million was from the World Bank and US $12.5 million was from Denmark.
The funds are for the seven strategically significant cities of Arusha, Dodoma, Tanga, Kigoma, Mwanza, Mtwara and Mbeya, and are meant to facilitate keeping up with the pace of quick urbanisation.
The project, which at first was intended to be finished by December 2017, received an extra US $50 million from the World Bank and US $6 million from the Danish International Development Agency (Danida) in 2014.
The present extra financing should cater for the project’s vital objective of boosting the quality of and access to basic urban services in the participating Local Government Authorities (LGAs).The WB Country Director for Tanzania, Malawi, Somalia and Burundi, Ms Bella Bird, said: “Improving services in Tanzania’s medium-sized cities is vital to supporting the government’s industrialisation goals,” she said.
“We have seen noteworthy gains in terms of connectivity, service provision, and institutional capacity for urban management as a consequence of earlier investment through TSCP,” she explained.
