Tanzanian leader's visit nets $2.5b in deals

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete on Oct 26 ended his six-day state visit in China successfully after bagging $2.5 billion worth of business deals and agreements, including construction of a satellite city on Dar es Salaam's outskirts.

The China visit, the second for Kikwete as president of Tanzania, strengthened his nation's political, economic and cultural relationship with China.

The president was in China to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between the countries, and he noted the need to increase their economic and trade ties in the next 50 years for the benefit of coming generations.

The signed agreements and memoranda of understating are expected to help change the landscape of Tanzania, especially the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam.

They include a $1.7 billion plan between the Tanzanian government-owned National Housing Corporation, China Railway Jianchang Engineering and Poly Technologies to build a satellite city, financial square and residential/business center.

Another agreement covers construction of a 13-kilometer road called Kikwete Friendship Highway at a cost of $64.5 million in Dar es Salaam.

A memorandum of understanding also was signed with Jiangsu Shenli Plastics Co Ltd to finance and develop a $350 million industrial and economic park in Mlandizi in the Coast region surrounding Dar es Salaam.

Tanesco, Tanzania's state-run power company, signed a deal with China's TBEA Hengyang Transformer Co for a rural electrification project at a cost of about $500 million.

Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Said Meck Sadik says three projects will considerably reduce the unmet demand for quality housing in the city, which is growing faster than real estate developers can keep up with.

"Dar es Salaam needs good and quality housing units. The city is expanding by 5.6 percent per year. Soon the population of Dar es Salaam will reach 5 million. We need houses," Sadik says.

Nehemiah Mchechu, director general of the National Housing Corporation, says Dar es Salaam, despite being the financial hub of Tanzania, still lacks a financial center.

Construction on the projects is slated to start in the first half of next year, and is estimated to take between five and seven years.

Kikwete also officially opened an African Village that focuses on arts and culture on the outskirts of Beijing, and he promised to assist the village. He thanked all the African envoys in Beijing who contributed artifacts to the project.

Professor Li Songshan, a former Chinese official and art expert who lived in Tanzania for decades, was the promoter and developer of the village. He called it "the house of African culture" in Beijing.

Kikwete also held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Xi said China would rehabilitate the Tanzania Zambia Railway, which was built by China in 1970s. The railroad connects the two African countries.

Speaking on trade imbalances between China and Tanzania, which favor China, Kikwete says bridging the gap is of paramount importance. But he said the first focus should be on increasing the trade volume because the current $3.7 billion in bilateral trade is inadequate.

"Trade of a mere $3.7 billion is too small. If we start bothering about the imbalances now, you are talking about (Tanzania) remaining stagnant," Kikwete says.

Of the total volume of $3.7 billion in trade last year, Tanzania's share was $600 million.

"Of course," he adds, "Tanzania has to work hard and produce goods and services required in China. Exporting more to China, that is the way to go.

Though Kikwete's visit is his second as head of state, he frequently has visited China since 1980, about once every four years. After leaving China, Kikwete made a state visit to Vietnam Oct 26-28.

For China Daily

(China Daily Africa Weekly 10/31/2014 page3)