Tarmac, trust and the long road ahead

By Mohamed Besta

Infrastructure is the quiet proof of national intent. It shows whether a country is merely ambitious, or whether that ambition carries through in everyday access and shared opportunity.

Over the past five years, more than 3,000 kilometres of roads have been completed or upgraded in Tanzania, across borders, plateaus, and valleys long disconnected.

Travel times have dropped dramatically. Markets once difficult to reach are now accessible. Lives are touched not by grand gestures, but by the continuity of connectivity.

Decades of global experience confirm what this development implies. In Ethiopia, rural road investment improved food stability and increased trade. In India, expanded road access reduced school dropouts and improved livelihoods.

A World Bank study shows that transport investments in developing countries often yield a rate of return around 22 percent, significantly higher than average, and can generate up to two dollars of economic output for every one invested.

This demonstrates a simple truth: roads are not just physical links—they are economic multipliers. Yet, infrastructure can also fail if neglected.

A bridge built and abandoned, a highway that floods annually, or a corridor that no one maintains—these become symbols of broken trust, not development.

Recognising this reality, Tanzania is expanding its infrastructure delivery mechanisms to include public-private partnerships (PPPs) for strategic inter-regional roads. Such models, when governed with transparency and performance-based contracts, can secure long-term maintenance, ensure fiscal continuity, and bring private-sector capability into national service.

Quality assurance is essential. Infrastructure today must withstand climate pressures and serve future generations. That is why designs now incorporate improved drainage, protections against erosion, and over 166,000 trees planted along key corridors.

Digital weighbridges and driver rest stops further enhance road stewardship, rather than treating maintenance as an afterthought.

Local capacity matters. More than 5,000 Tanzanian firms are engaged in road upkeep—creating technical skills and reinforcing ownership. When local expertise builds the network, national resilience builds alongside it.

Preparing for events like CHAN 2025 and AFCON 2027 has focused attention on mobility infrastructure. But lasting impact lies in how well all regions can move long after the matches end.

Rural communities, border towns, highland districts—all benefit when trunk roads, feeder links, and access routes operate reliably.

Infrastructure is also institutional. Cross-country analysis reveals that responsible governance raises efficiency. When oversight is strong, contracts are fair, and regulations are enforced, infrastructure delivers growth without draining public trust.

Tanzania is charting its growth path—not by building for headlines, but by designing for inclusion. Every kilometre paved is a signpost, every maintained corridor a gesture of continuity.

The quality of roads reflects the clarity of vision and the candour of commitment: to mobility, to equity, and to the future.

Infrastructure is rarely glamorous. It doesn’t create applause in the moment. But its effects echo through years of movement, markets, and access.

Every traveller, every shipment, and every journey over our roads becomes part of a larger narrative.

In Tanzania’s case, the promise is in progress. The priority now is to bind that progress into permanence. Trust is built through reliability, accountability, and discipline. And when infrastructure delivers consistently, it transforms from mere pavement into national promise.

That is the true map we are charting. Not only of destinations—but of how we choose to travel together.

Mohamed Besta is the Chief Executive of TANROADS