JPM:2 new aircraft for September

TANZANIA is to acquire two brand new commercial airplanes in September, this year, for its national career, Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL), while the government has set aside US$460 million for implementation of the Dar-Kigali standard gauge rail project.

Magufuli said the passenger aircraft would operate both domestic and regional routes in what the president said were government efforts to revive the long-ailing national airline.
“If things go well as planned, in the next three months the country will have its own brand new Bombardier D8 Q400 planes,” President Magufuli stressed.

He was however quick to point out in appreciation that “our good neighbour, President Paul Kagame, taught me the technique of acquiring good planes in a short time. I therefore extend my thanks to the Rwandan government for the support.”

He said the two Bombardier D8 Q400 aircraft would each have the capacity to carry 78 passengers and that they would be acquired on a lease purchase basis.

Transport Deputy Minister Dr Charles Tizeba on Thursday told the National Assembly in Dodoma that the government would deploy US$ 3.34 million as initial payment for purchase of the two airplanes.

He said the money was a remainder from US$8.1 million which was paid as insurance compensation for an ATCL airplane, a Dash 8 Q300, which was damaged in an accident at Mwanza airport in April 2012.
The deputy minister said the market price of each of the aircraft was US$35 million, adding that the balance of the sale price would be obtained from the planes’ operations and would be fully paid in a period of 10 years.

In another development, the government has set aside US$460M for the construction the Dar es Salaam-Isaka-Kigali/Keza-Musongati (DIKKM) standard gauge railway (SGR) project.
According to President Magufuli, if the project would be implemented without kickbacks for anybody, the allocated amount would be able to build many kilometres.

He added that construction of the railway line would start simultaneously in Rwanda and Tanzania in order to speed up its completion.

The DIKKM standard gauge railway project is expected to be completed by March 2018 and is estimated to cost US$5.2 billion (about Sh523.1 trillion).

President Magufuli also announced that the government had decided to allocate space for an inland container depot (ICD) to specifically cater for Rwandan cargo. He said this was being done to do away with unnecessary bureaucracy.

He added that 70 per cent of Rwanda’s goods passed through the port of Dar es Salaam. He assured his Rwandan counterpart that the port was now safe because corruption loopholes had been plugged and other obstacles cleared.
Magufuli said they had jointly decided to open a Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) office in Rwanda in efforts to facilitate business, adding that cargo clearance would henceforth be done in Kigali.

The president also explained that Tanzania was committed to collaborating with the Burundian government, adding that Burundi had also expressed its willingness to send experts to Tanzania for sharing experiences with a view to strengthen mutual relations.

President also announced at the conference the government would adopted a system of revenue collection under which one government institution would monitor revenues from all the sectors as Rwanda was doing.
Earlier, in his remarks President Kagame said he had fruitful discussions with President Maguful which focused on beefing up relations between the two countries.

“Rwanda will continue to work closely with the government of Tanzania by creating business opportunity which will benefit the people of both countries,” he said.

Prior to the joint press conference, Tanzania and Rwanda signed minutes of a Joint Permanent Commission meeting held in Rwanda on April 1, this year.

The agreement was signed by Dr Augustine Mahiga, Tanzanian minister for Foreign Affairs, East Africa, Regional and International Cooperation, and Louise Mushikiwabo, Rwandan minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.