Glittering 15-storey Ngorongoro Tower makes a splash

Arusha. Located at a prime area in the Arusha city, the Jakaya Kikwete Ngorongoro Tower, elicits some optimism as a viable investment for office accommodation.

The glittering 15-storey structure, constructed at the cost of Sh45 billion by the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA), has all amenities for high end tenants.

These will include banks, airlines, travel agencies, restaurants, offices of both private companies and public institutions, especially those associated with the hospitality industry.

Chief conservator Freddy Manongi says the building has been constructed as part of efforts to diversify revenue sources for NCAA, which manages the leading single tourist destination in the country--the 8,292 square kilometre area.

The building has been completed at the time when the office faces rental space challenges in Arusha either due to business slowdown or saturation of the market.

However, its owners are highly optimistic of turning it into another ‘gold mine’ for the NCAA apart from the amphi-theatre like and famous crater which attracts almost 100 per cent of the visitors there.

The building it located at the heart of the central business district, barely a few metres from the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC), the regional and district offices, the Mayor’s parlour and major hotels.

Also adjacent to it are the regional Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) head offices, the zonal headquarters of the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), the famous Clock Tower and gemstone (mainly tanzanite) shops. Among the prospective tenants are an international hotel and restaurant chain, the zonal offices of national institutions and the National College of Tourism.

To add colour, there will be a huge screen mounted in its perimetre to live-stream activitities happening in the NCA; all aimed to keep visitors abreast of what is going on in the bush.