Questions abound as Dart hits snag

Dar es Salaam. Sections of the Ubungo Road under the Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit (Dart) project are now under repair after a consultant with the roads agency identified some flaws in certain areas.

Strabag is currently footing the bill for repairing the faults because the project is yet to be handed over to the government.

A quick survey by The Citizen revealed that almost 50 metres of the section of the road close to the bridge near Ubungo Bus Terminal has been drilled ready for rehabilitation, a clear indication that the handing over date of the project before transport services by UDA RT commence remains uncertain.

The Citizen also witnessed construction workers fixing some amenities including water storage tanks and building walls at the Urafiki Dart Stage, another indicator that the work was yet to be completed.

Last year, Dart announced that transport services using the infrastructure would be launched by mid-this year, but the date was postponed to last October.

However, last week Dart chief executive officer Asteria Mlambo, said there were still pending works, including installation of the electronic ticketing system.

Responding to questions from The Citizen yesterday, Strabag Public relations officer Yahya Mkumba, said the repair work was due to the advice given by the Tanzania Roads Agency (Tanroads), consultant, SMEC International Pty Ltd, which is tasked with assessing the newly constructed roads under Dart.

The consultant has been contracted by Tanroads to inspect the newly constructed roads, according to Mr Mkumba.

“This is part of our routine work. We are doing this under the advice of the Tanroads consultant,” said Mr Mkumba when responding to questions.

He further noted: “Yes, the project budget will be definitely affected by the repair work. But it is within our scope.”

The Dart road links Kimara and Kinondoni Moscow to the city centre.

When asked to clarify, Tanroads engineers who requested not to be named as they were not spokespersons of the agency, said that professionally the repair work was normal as it is under the terms of reference for the contract.

Further survey has shown that some road pavements along Morogoro Road from Magomeni to Kimara have begun to wear out, while some structures have been damaged or completely removed by unknown people.

According to the 2014 report from Dart, the World Bank had earmarked $290 million (Sh580 billion per current exchange rates) for carrying out the first phase of the Bus Rapid Transport project in the city under Dart.