Dar anti-flooding project set to start with demolitions

Dar es Salaam. The demolition of houses and other structures in the Msimbazi Valley in Dar es Salaam is scheduled to begin this week ahead of the implementation of the Msimbazi River Development Project.

The $260 million project involves re-contouring the river and floodplain to improve the flow capacity and allow for floodwater retention.

It also entails construction of an elevated bridge, demolition of the existing bus rapid transit (BRT) depot and construction of a new one at Ubungo, as well as the setting up of a city park.

Tanzania Rural and Urban Roads Agency (Tarura) public relations officer (Msimbazi Project Development) Raphael Kilapilo told The Citizen that the clearing of a section of the project site would start on Friday, this week, with at least 2,155 houses and other structures earmarked for demolition.

“However, I wish to make it clear that we will only demolish houses whose owners have been compensated. Relocation agreements have already been signed and those affected will vacate their houses voluntarily,” he said.

A total of 2,592 households will be affected by the project and are listed for compensation.

Out of that number, 2,392 have been evaluated and 2,155 households have been compensated.

Compensation of the remaining households has been delayed owing to various issues, including inheritance disputes and court-related matters.

Mr Kilapilo said people who have been compensated and who have agreed to relocate were asked to start demolishing their houses themselves so that they can salvage construction materials for building new houses.

“Owners of the 2,155 houses that will be demolished from this week were given until January 23, this year, to move out. After they were compensated, we gave them a grace period of several weeks to prepare themselves and demolish the houses themselves so that they could salvage anything of value.”

Mr Kilapilo could not say when the demolitions will be completed since it is not known what challenges demolition squads will face during the exercise.

“It is difficult to say exactly when the exercise will be completed because of the possibility of unforeseen difficulties and other factors,” he said.

Msimbazi River Development Project coordinator Humphrey Kanyenye said in February that they were the final stages of picking a contractor and consultant for the construction of the Jangwani flyover and its management.

The objective of the project is to strengthen flooding resilience in the flood-prone Msimbazi area, reduce interruption to traffic and BRT operations due to frequent flooding and cut the risk of flood damage to infrastructure and surrounding areas.

The government has secured plots in Kigamboni and Chanika where the relocated families can buy land and build new homes. Each family has received Sh4 million to purchase a plot.