Exchange of Notes for Grant Aid for the United Republic of Tanzania (the Project for the Improvement of Masasi-Mangaka Road [3rd of 3 Stages])

December 3, 2009
Japanese

The Government of Japan has decided to extend a grant aid (the Project for the Improvement of Masasi-Mangaka Road [3rd of 3 stages]) totaling a maximum of 1.514 billion JPY to the United Republic of Tanzania. Notes to this effect were exchanged on December 3 (Thu) (local time: same day) in Dar es Salaam between Mr. Hiroshi Nakagawa, Japanese Ambassador to Tanzania, and Mr. Ramadhani M. Khijjah, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs the United Republic of Tanzania.
The Mtwara Development Corridor (MDC), which runs through southern Tanzania, is expected to carry out the role of ensuring the stable provision of agricultural commodities to areas of consumption and promoting the economic growth of rural regions. As an international corridor project, it has been designated as a prioritized region for the promotion of economic development. Though the principal industry of the region is agriculture, harvested crops are not being shipped out efficiently, due to an insufficient network of roads connecting production regions to marketplaces, and the swift improvement of roads has become necessary.
This grant aid is for the improvement of approximately 55.1 kilometers of road in a portion of the MDC connecting Masasi and Mangaka. The project is to be carried out through three stages and, in this third stage, 22.5 kilometers of road will be constructed running from an area located 32.6 kilometers from Masasi (the starting point) to Mangaka (the ending point).
With the provision of this road, the period of required transit time is expected to be shortened (the transit time required to travel between Masasi and Mangaka is currently 83 min and is to be shortened to 42 min). It is also expected that the reduction in transit time will result in a reduction in the transportation costs of agricultural commodities and will contribute to a rise in the amount of goods flowing between the two regions.
This grant aid is part of Japan's commitment to Africa announced at the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) held May 2008 to provide assistance in the area of infrastructure.

(Reference) The United Republic of Tanzania is located on Africa's eastern coast, covers a land area of 945,000 square kilometers, has a population of approximately 42.48 million people (World Bank, 2008), and a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of 440 USD (World Bank, 2008).

(END)

Back to Index