The World Bank Wednesday approved an International Development Association loan of $190 million for the Second Central Transport Corridor Project for Tanzania.
The objective is to provide reliable and cost effective transport facilities in line with the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP) and the National Transport Policy and Strategy.
A statement by the World Bank country office in Tanzanias capital of Dar es Salaam Wednesday said the resources would be used by the Southern African country's government to construct a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) infrastructure in the capital.
The Tanzanian government will also rehabilitate and upgrade 170km of the North Eastern trunk road between Korogwe and some towns and strengthen the Zanzibar airport runway.
BRT will help to reduce rush hour travel time for public transport users along the respective corridors while the rehabilitation and upgrading of the trunk road will contribute in reducing transport costs along the corridor.
The strengthening of the Zanzibar airport runway will contribute in providing safer airport for both airlines and passengers.
Tanzania has experienced sustained economic growth since 2000 at an average annual rate of six per cent and has made significant steps in reforming the transport sector.
This project will contribute towards the government's Ten-Year Transport Sector Investment Programme which is aligned with NSGRP and the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs)," the statement quoted the World Bank country director for Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi, John Murray McIntire, as saying.
BRT, which is also known as a surface metro system, will comprise constructing exclusive concrete bus lanes, asphalt concrete mixed traffic lanes, two depots, 29 trunk stations, six transfer or feeder stations, five terminals and improvement of the Ubungo upcountry bus station.
The rehabilitation of the Korogwe to Same trunk road section will involve widening the road width, surfacing with asphalt concrete, raising the road level in flooding areas and eliminating some at-grade railway intersections.
Strengthening of the Zanzibar airport runway will comprise resurfacing and improvement of drainage and air traffic control systems.
"This project will contribute to Tanzania's poverty reduction strategy, Tanzania's National Vision 2025 and Zanzibar's Vision 2020, all of which aim at reducing absolute poverty by 50 per cent in 2010 and eradicating it by 2025," said Dieter Schelling, the task team leader for the Second Central Transport Corridor Project.
The project will be implemented for three years and the loan is expected to close on December 31, 2011.
Sabcnews.com reported Thursday that the World Bank Board has also approved $100 million for Tanzania's Science and Technology Higher Education Project.
The objectives of the first phase of the Science and Technology Higher Education Programme (STHEP) is to boost Tanzania's competitiveness through improvements in teaching science and technology at the higher education level, and aims at enhancing the quantity and quality of higher education graduates through improved learning environments.
STHEP will enable the various public educational institutions of higher learning to make the much needed critical investments in training, capacity building, infrastructure and equipment, modern information and communications technology and library systems which will contribute to the achievement of the NSGRP goals.
One component of the five-year programme is to strengthen the institutional capacity of key higher education agencies.