Construction of Chinese-built major road junction in Tanzania 25 pct complete: official

The construction of Ubungo Interchange, a major road junction in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, has reached 25-percent completion, an official said on Wednesday.

The 80.96 million U.S. dollar project is funded by the World Bank and being constructed by China Civil Engineering Construction Cooperation.

Barakael Mmari, project manager from the Tanzania National Roads Agency, a state-owned agency charged with the development, maintenance and management of trunk and regional roads, said construction of the 266-meter interchange was expected to be completed in December 2020.

He was briefing members of the Parliamentary Standing Public Accounts Committee on a visit to the construction site to see progress made.

Mmari told the lawmakers that the interchange was set to have a life span of 100 years just like many other such infrastructures elsewhere across the world.

"We have so far completed 25 percent of the project and we have not experienced any casualties at the construction site, instead, ever since the construction started the rate of accidents has been reduced at the Ubungo junction," said Mmari.

On March 20, 2017, Tanzanian President John Magufuli and the former World Bank President Jim Yong Kim laid the foundation stone for the Ubungo interchange project, connecting Nelson Mandela, Sam Nujoma and Morogoro roads.

The project was expected to reduce traffic congestion on the busy Ubungo junction with more than 60,000 vehicles passing daily.