Tanzania second recipient of AfDB funding in East Africa

Nairobi/Dar. Tanzania is the second top recipient of funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB) in east Africa over the last decade.

Data from the pan-African lender shows that Kenya tops the East and Central African region as the biggest beneficiary of funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB) over the last decade.

AfDB approved a total of $3.718 billion (UA2.77 billion) to Kenya between 2013 and 2023 followed by $2.83 billion (UA2.11 billion) to Tanzania and a further $1.81 billion (UA1.35 billion) to Rwanda.

UA (Units of Account) is the currency of trade that AfDB uses and its exchange rate with the dollar varies over time. For example, last year one UA was equivalent to $1.3416.

Sectors such as energy, road construction, and water have been some of the biggest beneficiaries of the billions of dollars from AfDB, making the pan-African lender an integral development partner of Kenya.

“Approvals for East Africa amounted to UA 2.29 billion, or 29 percent of total approvals, a substantial increase of 37 percent over the UA 1.67 billion in 2022,” AfDB says in its annual report for last year.

Some of the big projects that AfDB has funded in Tanzania include the Dodoma City Outer Ring Road (110.2 Km) Construction Project and the Dar es Salaam Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project-Phase 2 which involves the construction of infrastructure that includes 20.3km of exclusive BRT lanes and Non Motorised Transport (NMT) facilities along Kilwa Road corridor and part of Kawawa Road.

Among the many, the AfDB has also financed the Arusha-Namanga-Athi River trunk road.

Through the Transport Sector Support Program (TSSP), the AfDB is also financing interventions in roads, rail and air transport sub-sectors in the country.In the roads sub-sector, the TSSP intends to upgrade 410km of gravel roads to bitumen standard on the mainland; rehabilitate 31 km of paved roads and upgrade 21km of gravel roads to bitumen standard on Zanzibar Island and conduct feasibility and detailed design studies of roads for pipeline development.

In the railway and air transport sub-sectors, the project has study components to develop a Railway Master Plan and the feasibility and detailed design for the Msalato Airport in Dodoma and Pemba Airport in Zanzibar, combined with Zanzibar Airport Master Plan studies.

The total cost of the project amounts to UA 275.11 million to be implemented over a five year period including the Defects Liability Period.