EAC Heads of State Launch EAC Arusha Bypass
The 42.4 km EAC Arusha Bypass, which is a section of the international Arusha-Holili/Taveta-Voi route that connects Northern Tanzania to the Kenyan port city of Mombasa, was officially opened today by the EAC Heads of State in Arusha, Tanzania.
EAC Heads of State Launch EAC Arusha Bypass
East African Community Headquarters, 22 July 2022, Arusha, Tanzania: The 42.4 km EAC Arusha Bypass, which is a section of the international Arusha-Holili/Taveta-Voi route that connects Northern Tanzania to the Kenyan port city of Mombasa, was officially opened today by the EAC Heads of State in Arusha, Tanzania.
The Arusha bypass is the first stage of a project that was built to ease traffic in the towns of Arusha and Moshi as well as encourage intra-regional trade.
Phase II’s objective includes dualizing the highways from Tengeru to the USA River (10.1 km), part of the urban roadways in Moshi (8.4 km), a new Kikavu bridge (560 m long), and 4 km of approach roads (realignment of the road).
The United Republic of Tanzania and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have agreed to a finance agreement (soft loan) for the funding of Phase II. This financing agreement is for 24.31 million yen, which is equal to TShs413.858 billion.
The road was inaugurated by outgoing EAC Chairperson Uhuru Kenyatta and his host, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, together with Presidents Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) and Evariste Ndayishimiye (Burundi).
Other prominent figures in attendance included Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente of Rwanda and his counterparts from the DRC, Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde Kyenge and Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, respectively. President Salva Kiir Mayardit was represented by the Minister for Presidential Affairs of South Sudan.
As a guest of the Summit, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of the Federal Republic of Somalia attended the event as well.
President Kenyatta remarked during his speech at the ceremony that peace and security were the two main drivers of development. Infrastructure development came in second.
According to President Kenyatta, nations can overcome any growth obstacles by cooperating and pooling their resources.
The president of Tanzania, Suluhu Hassan, stated in her remarks that the international route would stimulate trade while also boosting the tourism sector.
In order to facilitate the movement of people and products on the area, President Hassan stated that Tanzania was spending extensively in infrastructure, particularly water transport on Lake Victoria by building ships and renovating ports on the lake.
She advised those who live close to important infrastructure projects to take advantage of new possibilities to better themselves and, in turn, promote economic growth.
In addition, President Suluhu urged Tanzanians to protect infrastructure projects by abstaining from destructive behaviors including oil spills, sticking to axleload limitations, sand harvesting, and dumping trash beneath bridges.
Speaking at the event, Ms. Nnenna Lily Nwabufo, Director General of the African Development Bank (AfDB) for East Africa, revealed that the Arusha-Holili/Taveta-Voi road cost the AfDB US$217 million, of which US$112 million went to Tanzania and US$105 million to Kenya, and that the two governments also contributed to the project.
According to Ms. Nwabufo, the road was completely planned in accordance with one of the bank’s five priorities, which is to integrate Africa and raise the standard of living for its citizens.
The project, according to Ms. Nwabufo, has facilitated trade between Kenya and Tanzania as well as increased transit trade with nearby nations. She also noted that the streamlined border procedures have resulted in a reduction in transit time at the Holili/Taveta One Stop Border Post from a full day to less than two hours.
The outgoing Chairperson of the Council of Ministers, Ms. Betty Maina, stated in her speech that to address the enormous infrastructure gap between Africa and other continents, more than $170 billion in US dollars is needed.
According to observations made by EAC Secretary General Hon. (Dr.) Peter Mathuki, Africa currently spends 3.5% of its GDP on infrastructure development, compared to 4.7 to 6.5% for affluent nations.
According to Dr. Mathuki, the region is continuing to increase infrastructure expenditures in order to close the infrastructure gap and improve intermodal connections.
The transit time from Mombasa Port to Kigali through Uganda has decreased from 18 days in 2014 to an average of 5 days in 2021, for example, demonstrating the remarkable returns on these expenditures. Similar to this, the travel time from Dar es Salaam Port to Kigali and Bujumbura was cut from 22 days in 2014 to an average of 3 to 4 days in 2021, resulting in a US$3,500 per consignment cost savings, according to Dr. Mathuki.
Dr. Mathuki revealed that all 13 One Stop Border Posts that the EAC built throughout the region are now functioning.
“The Community intends to build 12 more OSBPs as part of the Phase II initiative. The OSBPs have been extremely important in reducing border crossing, increasing efficiency, and including informal trade in our transportation corridors, according to the Secretary-General.
