Is Tanga economic corridor scheme about to collapse ?

Tanga Economic Corridor Limited chairman Chris Incheul Chae, who is one of the investors in the project, said the initiative is proceeding very slo

wly because some government officials have put little seriousness on it.

The project, which was launched by Vice President Dr Mohammed Gharib Bilal will see investments to the tune of 443bn/- put in place under the partnership between Tanga Municipal Council and South Korean investors.

The former would hold 49 per cent shares, while the private investors from South Korea would hold 51 per cent stake.

“There have been some problems rendering the project to delay, there are some people who do not want this project to succeed,” he said

“I told the government officials on what to do so as to quickly complete the project but they have remained silent,” he said, adding, “this is very bad because the purpose is to improve the economic gains of the people of Tanga Region as well as improving the economy of the nation.”

Chae who is also chairman of African Future Forum (AFF) added: “Many Koreans were eager to invest in the Tanga Economic Corridor Limited but some officials at the Korea embassy in Tanzania told them that the place is not good for them to invest.”

“I wonder why this has happened while the officials are there to promote Korea and Tanzania economic partnerships,” he said.

Upon completion, he said, the Tanga Economic Corridor plans to exports 70 per cent of the manufactured items while the remaining 30 per cent will be consumed within Tanzania.

Speaking at the launch the corridor in June last year, Chae, said that the work to construct all the industries was supposed to be done by this year, but nothing has been done so far.

He said that the corridor would offer employment to more than 2,000 people.

For his part, Dr Gharib Bilal had said during the inauguration: “The government will do all it can to protect the investors’ capital through introducing required services.”

He instructed agencies to ensure they supply the area with essential utilities such as water and electricity, but up to now nothing has been done.

He also cautioned against act aimed at discouraging investors from investing in the country that are associated with delays and red tape in the registration of new projects.

Dr Bilal said that the government recognised the hindrances to doing business in the country as per the World Bank report, adding that efforts were being made to rectify the situation.

One of the areas the government has worked on to redress the situation was reviewing the legal system, which was cited by the WB.

The project site is at Pongwe industrial area which is adjacent the Pongwe railway station, a few kilometers from Tanga city.

The total area of the Tanga Economic Corridor project comprises 67.7 ha and 4.3 ha for both industrial and housing estate respectively.

This area is deemed to be enough for huge investments such as the Tanga Special Economic Zone project.

The project area has been declared a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) by the Export Processing Zone Authority of Tanzania (EPZA) and has been granted Certificate No 67 D, he said, adding that as such it falls under the SEZ programme.

Tanga Economic Corridor Limited is an industrial park developer and a joint venture firm between Tanga City Council and Good PM Group Limited through Africa Future Forum, an NGO that facilitates infrastructure development on the continent.