VICE-President Dr Mohammed Gharib Bilal
has inaugurated construction of a proposed modern road linking Mirerani
Mining Hills of Simanjiro with the Kilimanjaro International Airport
(KIA).
The ceremony to launch the project was
held at Zaire Township of Mirerani, in Simanjiro District, Manyara
Region and attended by thousands of residents of Arusha, Kilimanjaro and
Manyara.
Minister for Works, Dr John Magufuli
told Mirerani residents that the new road being built to tarmac level
will be completed before December 2016 and that after the first phase,
the government will continue with the second phase to link Mirerani
Township with Simanjiro District Headquarters at Orkesumet and this will
be 42km.
The Chief Executive for Tanzania
National Roads Network (TANROADS), Engineer Patrick Mfugale, said the
road project scheduled to take 17 months, will cost 33.2bn/- fully
funded by the Government.
The KIA-Mirerani Road project mapping
26km had stalled for a while due to the fact that the previous
contractor who was undertaking the project to build the highway had his
contract terminated due to shoddy performances.
The road which connects the Tanzanite
mining hills to Kilimanjaro Airport junction was initially being
executed by Ms STRADA International of the United Kingdom (UK) whose
performance left a lot to be desired, prompting TANROADS to revoke the
tender.
The Contractor, Ms STRADA International
of United Kingdom, was supposed to have accomplished twenty- five per
cent of the 26km of the road which starts from the section in Arusha to
Simanjiro in Manyara Region by January last year (2014) but until then
nothing had been done.
Eleven out of the 26km lie within Arusha
Region while the remaining 15km are mapped in Manyara. The Mirerani
hills where Tanzanite Gemstones are mined are located in Simanjiro
District.
The Project is now being executed by
Chinese Company under the supervision of LEA International of Canada in
association with DOCH Tanzania.
The contractor has already mobilized resources and equipment and bulldozers are roaring across the escarpments.
The project also includes building six
bus stops, five bridges, road signs and extended walkway aprons
alongside the entire highway. Dr Bilal said the road will transform the
Mirerani Township for the better. “This is a very important economic
zone for the country and needs reliable transport infrastructure,” he
said.
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