Tanzania secures $200m in soft loans from Kuwait

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania will receive a $207.3 million (Sh466.4 billion) soft loan from the Kuwait government through Kuwait for Arab Economic Development Fund to improve roads in the new capital, Dodoma.

Among other things, the loan will be spent on the expansion of the 257 kilometres road connecting Morogoro to Dodoma.

A statement issued and distributed to media on Friday, March 24 by the Finance and Planning ministry's spokesman Benny Mwaipaja disclosed.

According to the statement, Kuwait ambassador to Tanzania Jassem Ibrahim Al-Najem issued the remarks when he spoke with Tanzania’s Finance and Planning minister Dr Philip Mpango during a meeting held in Dodoma on Friday.

Mr Al-Najem expressed his optimism that the assistance would help in improve the roads in the region, part of statement read.

He further assured that the Kuwait government would continue to cooperate and support its Tanzanian counterpart in undertaking various development projects in the key sectors such as agriculture with the view to improve food security.

Within 40 years of partnership between the two countries, the Tanzanian government has already received a total of Sh608 billion in loans from the Kuwait government to enhance the areas of health, infrastructure, agriculture, electricity and water, according to the statement.

For his part, Dr Mpango thanked the Kuwait government for the loan, saying that spending will be monitored carefully to prevent misappropriation.

He further revealed that the Tanzanian government last year received a sum of 115 billion in loans from the Kuwait’s Development Fund to construct a 85 kilometre tarmac road connecting Chaya to Nyahua, part of the statement read.

He also revealed that the Tanzanian government was also expected to receive another soft loan of $13.6 million (Sh31 billion) from the Kuwait’s Development Fund to rehabilitate Mnazi Mmoja Hospital in Zanzibar.