Why the Kigamboni industrial park project shifted to Mlandizi
What you need to know:
- According to the information from the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC), the shift in the location of the project, whose first phase investment stands at $200 million (about Sh460 billion), was triggered by the investor’s failure to secure ownership of the 500 acres of land from the owners
Dar es Salaam. A multinational Egyptian company firm, Elsewedy Electric, has shifted its industrial park project from Kigamboni to Kikongo, Mlandizi in the Coast Region, it was revealed yesterday.
According to the information from the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC), the shift in the location of the project, whose first phase investment stands at $200 million (about Sh460 billion), was triggered by the investor’s failure to secure ownership of the 500 acres of land from the owners.
“Investors and land owners failed to reach consensus,” a source told The Citizen without dwelling into detail.
It was on those grounds that the government decided to come in and allocate land for them in Mlandizi to start implementation of the first phase of the project, which will involve setting up 100 manufacturing industries and creating a total of 10,000 direct jobs.
Permanent Secretary in the President’s Office (Investment portfolio) Tausi Kida yesterday urged Elsewedy Electric to fast-track the industrial park investment.
“We, as the government, are keen to see the project implemented on time and we are ready to pro-vide the much-needed support,” said Dr Kida.
In a swift rejoinder, Elsewedy Electric managing director Ibrahim Qamer expressed their commitment to implementing the project.
“We request the government expedite the finalisation of land-related issues so that we can start execution of the project,” said Mr Qamer.
In another development, Elsewedy Electric is in the process of making Tanzania its main hub for the production of some of its main products, including transformers and electric cables.
Speaking yesterday during the permanent secretary’s visit to the factory, Mr Qamer expressed their commitment to ensuring Tanzania feeds the markets that were once supplied directly by Elsewedy Egypt, including South Africa, Kenya, the DRC, Rwanda, Burundi and many more.
Dr Kida commended Elsewedy Electric for the Kigamboni-based state-of-the art factory, which has so far invested over $40 million and will invest above $60 million once the project is complete.
The factory’s production of transformers and aluminum and copper cables has attracted over 400 jobs, of which 35 were taken to Egypt for capacity building to ensure they perform at the required level.
