Tanzania approves the Bagamoyo port project

17-11-2017
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Construction Review Online
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The Tanzanian government has officially submitted its letter of approval for the Bagamoyo Special Economic Zone venture to China Merchants Port, agreeing and accepting the investor’s comprehensive project proposal.

According to Tanzanian Ambassador to China Mr Mbelwa Kairuki, the letter was submitted on behalf of the government, to the China Merchants Port Managing Director, Bai Jingtao, on the 10th of November, 2017.

According to Ambassador Kairuki , the letter from the Prime Minister’s Office was a reply to the investor’s project proposal after the approval by the Cabinet meeting.

“With the approval by the Cabinet meeting, the Tanzanian government formally agreed and accepted the comprehensive proposal submitted by the China Merchants Port and the Oman Sovereign Fund on March 31, this year,” said Ambassador Kairuki.

Having submitted the letter, Mr Bai thanked Ambassador Kairuki for his personal visit to Shenzhen City in China – the headquarters of the company, and thanked the Tanzanian Government for its high attention and full support for the Bagamoyo project.

Government’s approval

The approval by the government represents a breakthrough in the Bagamoyo project. However, China Merchants Port will work with Oman partners to promote the Bagamoyo Special Economic Zone project.

Economists believe that the project will be of great significance to Tanzania, through relying on the new port of Bagamoyo and drawing on the development model of the ‘front portcentral- back city’ of the China Merchants Bureau to promote the construction of the park, stimulating economic growth, promoting employment, and promoting an industrialization drive.

Ambassador Kairuki expressed his gratitude for the participation of China Merchants Port in the Bagamoyo project, hoping that they will work with the Oman Sovereign Fund to advance the project. He also assured the potential investors of the government’s commitment to fully support smooth implementation of the project.

Other China Merchants Port leaders present during the submission of the approval letter by Ambassador Kairuki include Mr Lu Yongxin, Deputy General Manager of China Merchants Port, Jiang Luning, Director of Overseas Business and Mr Lu Wenjuan, General Manager of the Board of Directors.

According to China Merchants Port Holdings Company Limited Director for Overseas Investments, Dr Moosa Mao, the project will bring enormous economic benefits to the country, including multiplying almost tenfold the GDP per capita income of Bagamoyo residents and tapping the containerized cargo that Kenya and South Africa ports are now receiving. Dr Moosa said the project would, among other things, involve establishment of 190 factories in start-up zone.

On completion the whole project, around 760 factories will have been established, catapulting the GDP per capita income of Bagamoyo from the current US $901 to US $8,100 by 2047.

Meanwhile, the China Merchants Group, a State owned company with a turnover of over US $1 trillion, signed an agreement with the government in 2013 to implement the project, a replica of what it did in Shenzhen, turning it into a modern and exemplary City in the world from a mere fishing village.