With good road network, less number of accidents

ROAD safety situation in Tanzania is still alarming compared to other developing countries within Sub-Saharan region. This is because of the fact that, most drivers in the country are not efficient while driving their vehicles along the road thus resulting into the number of fatalities caused due to reckless driving. The situation is increasing year after year, and it’s higher in relation to other countries within the region. The gravity of the situation is billed to worsen as road traffic population increases. Tanzania Roads Association or TARA in short was formed with a view to help advice the government on the impending situation and put down various ways and strategies to address proper usage of roads but its efforts has ended up in vain.

The body of an unidentified passenger hanging by the driver’s door. The driver who is in yellow shirt crying in agony without help after having been trapped and unable to move after the accident.

Three people died instantly after the Daladala in which they were traveling involved in a head collision with a military vehicle recently at the hilly side near Ukonga prisons in Dar es Salaam. According to eye witnesses, the driver of the daladala was driving in high speed in an attempt to overtake the truck which had a refuse transporting to Pugu Kinyamwezi for emptying in a dumping site. Without the driver’s knowledge while in motion he suddenly came into contact face to face with a military truck which was veered off the road. According to traffic rules and regulations, it is a mistake to try to overtake on the hilly side. When I had arrived at the scene of the accident, and noticed what had happened, I took out my digital camera and quickly took some photos including of a dead man who up to the time of my arrival his body was still hanging by the driver’s door bleeding profusely. Good Samaritans were busy at the scene trying to save those few passengers who got trapped and calm down those who had fear and panic inside the bus in that miserable accident which had caused long traffic jam that morning of Saturday around 10:00 oc’lock. I quickly disembarked out of the daladala in which I was traveling at that time in order to take good photographs including the military vehicle, but I was undoubtedly prevented by some military officers who were already there looking in grim of panic and shock mourning for their driver who had lost one arm and was unconsciously lying down almost dead.

This is how the situation looked like, the wreckage of an ill-fitted daladala bus after the accident.

With the poor understanding of the use of the mass media, people at the scene tried to prevent me taking photos while others attempted to snatch my camera when I tried to take photographs of scores of passengers who sustained serious injuries while struggling down by the side of a road on the ground crying for pain. Some had their teeth knocked out, heads cut while others had their arms or legs broken. But despite of this, I managed to take one photo as you can see above that shows the driver of the daladala in this fateful incident crying for pain after having been trapped as people looked at him without any help. The driver who lost both his legs was removed out when one side of the door was cut by a drilling like cutting machine which was brought at the scene later.

Expansion of JNIA airport in Dar to take effect two years to come

International (JNIA) airport in Dar es Salaam which is currently being worked upon by the government of Tanzania and that of China, is yet to be approved, an official with the Tanzania Airport Authority (TAA) has said. TAA’s Manager for Planning and designing, Engineer George Sambali told this magazine an exclusive interview when visited in his office recently that, due to this delay, the construction of the terminal three would effectively take place after two years to come. He said, meanwhile the government is looking for enough money for the preliminary preparations as a matter of agency to clear the area from where residents of Kipawa suburb in the city were vacated. However, he added that on the other hand, the government was also scouting for an appropriate strategic investor to undertake the expansion programmes before the actual construction work starts.

The scenery of the front view of the Mwalimu Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam.

According to the Minister for Infrastructure, Dr. Shukuru Kawambwa. another demolition exercise to pave the expansion of the airport is soon to be set in, this time people who resides in Kigilagila and Kipunguni A suburbs, would be affected by the exercise. In view of this, the government would set aside the money for their compensation prior to the evaluation of their properties for this 2010/11 financial year. According to the Minister, the actual demolition exercise would effectively start in January 2011. The aim of expansion at JNIA is to accommodate the number of tourists and other normal travelers who are currently getting congested when checking out and coming in at the terminal buildings at points of entry and departure.

A demolished section of Kipawa suburb whose residents have been vacated to pave the way for the expansion of the JNIA airport in Dar es Salaam.

Careful watchers says that, Tanzania as a tourist destination centre was not competitive enough in the region and if things would not be improved, tourists might land at a neighboring country and come to view the country’s attractions by road. Terminal two at JNIA was designed for one million passengers a year, but the facility handles 1.5 million passengers, hence congestion resulting into long queues at checking and at immigration counters. According to TAA’s Director General Mr. Prosper Tesha, the passenger lounges at terminal two have become too small as the number of travelers have increased..

Championing Steel manufacturing industries in Tanzania

Steel Manufacturers Association of Tanzania (SMAT) plays a crucial role in ensuring efficiency on the production of steel products used for construction purposes. As an association of steel industry, among the main objectives of the association is to foresee the development of steel manufacturing in the country. The association also finds solutions to the many problems facing the sector, as the association’s chairman Mr. Sharad Salgar explains in an interview which I conducted with him in his office which is based in Dar es Salaam city.

QS: When was the association established?

The association came into existence in the year 1998, and I have been the founder chairman since its inception.

QS: What was the objective of establishing the association

The main objectives of establishing this association was to find a solution to the myriad of problems facing steel manufacturers in the country. In doing this, we do lobbying on behalf of members to discuss the industrial problems with the government in collaboration with the Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI). The aim was to share experiences and coordinate with the government’s activities and try to get adequate facilitation from the government.

QS: How many companies/industries are members of your association?

We have fourteen companies as members of the association in the country up to now. Three companies out there are in Arusha city, and one company is based in Mwanza city. The rest of the companies are located in Dar es Salaam city. According to the association’s regulations, all of these companies must ensure production of good quality steel products in their individual factories.

QS: Please specify how the association and its members are categorized in line of the specialization.

We have companies who manufactures corrugated iron sheets, steel bars and as well as steel pipes. ALAF Limited being the largest and the oldest factory, manufactures multi products and has a range of various products. Other companies have specialized only in round bars, steel pipes and other metal products.

QS: What are the main achievements which the association has attained so far since its establishment.

The association is proud to have an increase of the number of companies that manufactures steel products as well as galvanized iron sheets, currently we have 14 companies as I have mentioned. Also due to the association’s efforts of enforcing regulations in the sector, many more industries have been established. Our aim is to ensure further development and production of quality products among our members. Other achievements are to convince the government to reduce duty on raw materials to zero rate. This I must say is a great achievement that will go along way in reducing costs for our members and resultant lower prices to consumers.

QS: What are some of the challenges/problems the association has been faced with and how do you overcome them

The major impediment in our production is the cost of utilities that is still very high despite our several requests to the government to reduce them. Electricity is still very expensive, and unreliable. This is in line with water and telephones etc. These high costs affects business transactions more in Tanzania compared to other East African countries. Although all along we have been calling on the government to reduce utilities costs, nothing positive has happened yet.

QS: The business of reinforced bars is booming, how do you fair in business with other trade partners?

The business is booming because of the emerging construction activities in the country. One problem we have with contractors is that, they presume our locally manufactured round bars does not conform to the TBS standards. Bu I would like to assure them that all bars produced here in Tanzania have the same quality as those ones imported though they do not have international standards. This is the problem, but all of them are strong and have good quality and adhere to TBS standards.

QS: What raw material is used to manufacture steel products? And from where do you import the bulk?

Galvanized Corrugated Iron sheets or in short (GCI), require Hot Roll steel coils and zinc. This is used for manufacturing of the iron sheets whereas round bars is from iron scraps or billets that are locally available. The principal of degree of processing for instance in steel industries, we start with iron ore since Tanzania does not produce basic steel or Hot Rolled Steel coils (HRC). About 55 to 60 percent of the raw material is sourced from South Africa and the remaining percentage rate from Japan and Korea. As far as pipes and corrugated iron sheets is concerned, these have to use HRC which has to be imported. A manufacturer needs to have zinc of 10 percent and steel 90 percent.

QS: What is the government’s stance on the imposition of import duties on raw materials affecting steel manufacturers?

As I have said before, the government has accepted the principal of degree of processing of the raw materials to come to zero duty. In view of this situation, many local manufacturing industries have survived. The government has been very supportive of the local industries. The import duty of 25 percent makes us to survive and that is why the industries are operating in profit. As far as the ALAF Ltd is concerned, in the year 2009, we produced 50,000 metric tones steel products and the various taxes paid to the government was almost Tsh. 18 billion in various taxes which includes corporate tax, VAT and skills and development levy. This is 6 percent of the pay roll costs.

QS: Does the association provides any sort of training to its members?

Each individual company has to train their own people and at their own capacity level and expense. As the association, we do not offer any kind of training. It’s upon each of our members to organize its training program sessions for their own. The engineers working in these companies are occasionally empowered by ERB’s periodic trainings which are conducted under SEAP programs.

QS: What steps does your association take in order to promote the activities of its members?

Each member has to promote its own activities. We are the association and do not interfere with the internal affairs of our members. We only stand to give support on their sustainability on the issues regarding taxes and import duties on raw materials.

QS: How do you see the development of steel manufacturing in Tanzania?

There has been a tremendous growth within a short span of time and as manufacturers we want to ensure that this growth is maintained. This is in government’s policy that so far encouraged the investment in steel industries although no special incentives has been provided. If it is Tanzania’s interest to alleviate poverty and create employment. Industrialization must be encouraged. It’s only through industrialization that one can create employment and reduce poverty. Thus for Tanzanian steel manufacturers have been committed enough to ensure their goals. Usually the country’s development is judged according to the amount steel consumption per capita. The consumption of steel per capita is a good barometer to judge any country’s development. In Tanzania the steel consumption per capita is very low. As long as construction is booming, thus steel manufacturing is expanding.

QS: What are your future plans and aspirations in light of the association development?

With our up-to-date services in the industries that satisfies our customers, we are eager to ensure the progress of steel manufacturing is upgraded to the international standards in future. In view of this fact, we are now encouraging our members to export outside Tanzania to earn foreign exchange. Tanzania is having enough capacity to export its steel products to the neighboring market. Tanzania is supposed to have iron ore and coal in Mchuchuma and Coal in Linganga, now the National Development Corporation (NDC) has invited partners who would develop the industry in Tanzania to produce basic steel tenders from prospective.


NOTE: Mr. Sharad Salgar who is currently Chief Executive Officer of ALAF Limited, is also the founder chairman of the Steel Manufacturing Association since it was established in the country over a decade ago. He is also the 1st Vice-Chairman of the Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI). He holds two degrees, one in Commerce and Economics, and another in Law. He is also a Certified Chartered Accountant (CPA) by profession and an associate member of Indian Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Tanzania celebrates water week

Water is a critical for sustainable development including environmental integrity and alleviation for poverty and hunger. The improvement of water supply and its sources for human well-being is recognized as fundamental human right and indispensable for human health. Having seen the importance of water, Tanzania government through the Ministry of Water and Irrigation celebrated national water-week with other nations worldwide in mid March. This year’s annual event was celebrated at the national level at Mwendapole in Kibaha coast region under the theme “Clean and safe water for better health”. The theme highlights the significance of water quality, reflecting its cooperation and the importance of integrated approach to water resources management and communicate messages on eco-systems and human well-being at both international and local levels. A colorful one week event allowed stakeholders within the sector inside and outside Tanzania to share experience on development and management of water and sanitation through exhibitions. ‘Maji week’ as it is known in Tanzania is mainly used for dissemination of the water policy strategy and water sector development programs. All regions in the country devoted the week, as appropriate in the local context, to activities such as the promotion of public awareness on water issues through publications and dissemination of documentaries. In this special day that is being commemorated annually, allows stakeholders of the water industry in the country, the Department of Water Resources in the ministry of Water Development to highlight various strategies of getting safe drinking water and the need to promote the rainwater harvesting technology in Tanzania cheaply for the rural people as well as urban dwellers.

The main objective of the event is to create awareness and sensitize the public on water sector plans and reforms, and the importance of their participation in environmental sanitation and water supply programs, evaluate the achievements, identify problems and draw up strategies for implementation. This event allows stakeholders within the sector, inside and outside Tanzania to exchange their experiences on the development and management of water and sanitation through exhibitions which had been staged at the climax. Tanzania communities have complex priorities for the use of water for economic activities and for household use, but as well for maintaining health of the people in rural areas. Men and women often have different priorities and responsibilities as well as cultural conditions to determine indigenous practices and societal values that determines how people perceive and manage water sustainably. Statistics shows that, Tanzania has sufficient water resources to meet most of its present needs and they include surface and underground sources. About 7 percent of the land surface is covered by three natural lakes (all of them have fresh water) which border the country apart from other inland lakes. The three lakes includes Lake Victory which is the second largest in the world, Lake Tanganyika, the second deepest lake in the world and the third one is lake Nyasa. Inland lakes includes Rukwa, Eyasi and Manyara.

In Tanzania water supply is still a problem in rural communities. People and the government depend on the donor assistance who helps in drilling boreholes.

There are also big rivers flowing to the lakes. Underground water is also another important source of water for both urban and rural settlement areas. There is a great variation of water availability between parts of the country. The variation is explained by differences in topography, rainfall pattern and climate. About one third of Tanzania receives less than 800mm of rainfall per annum and they are considered as arid or semi arid. The country experiences a long dry season normally extending from June to October which has an effect of low river flows and drying of water reserves. Surface water resources in the country consists of lakes, rivers, springs man-made reservoirs and natural ponds. Considerable water resources exist in the country’s lakes namely Tanganyika, Nyasa, Rukwa, Eyasi and Natron. About 50 percent of the surface run water is derived from the main rivers flowing directly to the Indian Ocean and these are Pangani, Wami, Mkondoa, Ruvu, Rufiji, Ruaha, Kilombero, Mbarangandu, Matandu, Mbwemkuru, Likuledi and Ruvuma rivers. The remaining 50 percent is divided into surface water drainage into the main internal drainage basins which have no outlet to the sea. Tanzania has 5,439,000 ha of lakes and swamps which represent 5.8 percent of the totals land surface, but this number excludes seasonally inundated flood plains. Ground water is major source of water for many areas in Tanzania and actually the most viable in the central and northern parts of the country the drier regions of Dodoma, Singida, Shinyanga, Tabora, Mwanza, Mara, Arusha, Coast and southern Kilimanjaro. In Tanzania, Drilling and Dam Construction Agency (DDCA) is an active player towards improving water supply services in the country. Its role as a government agency is to develop sustainable and safe water sources through efficient means and at cost effective price. This objective is in line with the national objective of alleviating poverty and improving the health of people through provision of clean, safe and adequate water supply to rural and urban population.

DDCA’s vision is to be the leading and most efficient organization in the country in the business of water well drilling and construction of water storage dams, by providing sustainable water sources and ensuring that clients get value for money from services provided. About 4,000 deep boreholes have been drilled by it since its launch in 1999. This achievement signifies that DDCA serves large number of people and livestock, industrial works, and various construction industries in the country. Water sector development in Tanzania is governed by the water sector policy. The current water sector was issued in 1991. However, recently the government has embarked on a policy reform program that covers the entire social-economic political body, including water sector. According to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation in the country, Tanzanian government is highly committed to realize its vision of improving water supply to reach at a level of 90 percent of the total country’s population if it would really want to achieve its National Development Vision for 2025, says an expert in water sector from the ministry headquarter. Senior officials have repeatedly said that without the availability of water for domestic and other uses, the country could not achieve the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well as the National Strategy for Growth and Poverty Reduction (MKUKUTA).

Tanzania’ water policy targets are to raise the proportion of rural population that has access to safe and clean water from 53 to 65 percent by June 2010 and for urban population in the same period from 73 to 890 percent. There are also pressure from the agricultural and energy sectors, where growth depends on increased supply of water for irrigation and hydro-electric power generation. In urban centers, there are 19 authorities responsible for development supply schemes, where the strategies involve commercialization of water supply and sanitation services according to the reports by the ministry. Commercialization is seen as the next step forward in urban water supply. Sewerage services would continue to be provided as part of an overall sanitation strategy for the urban area. However, plans for rural and urban water supply and sewerage services are only achievable if secured water resources are available, protected and used sustainable, a factor that is now a matter of serious concern. Water is indispensable element for sustaining people’s lives, growth and mankind development. Water is a critical for sustainable development including environmental integrity and alleviation for poverty and hunger. Water supply for human well-being is recognized as fundamental human right and indispensable for human health. This recognition thus entitles everyone to sufficient, affordable, physically accessible safe and acceptable water for domestic, construction and production use.

However, the world today has experienced fast diminishing of this natural resource as demand of fresh water continue to rise in response to rapid population growth. In Tanzania like elsewhere in the world, the use of water caters for the increased urbanization and is also necessary for fast industrial and economic development. It also caters for increased agricultural demand for irrigation. As a result, according to UN estimates, one billion people in the world have no access to safe drinking water, and two billion people lack basic sanitation. The UN general assembly at its 58th session in December 2003 proclaimed the year 2005-2015 as international decade for Action Water for Life. In order to ensure an effective implementation of this concept, Tanzania needs over US$ 1 billion in investment. Water is fundamental natural resource for socio economic development since the millennium summit’s declaration of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000 as an agenda of reducing poverty and improving lives of people in the world.

The specialty of earth moving construction equipment

In the World today, development cannot be attained without modern infrastructural facilities. Roads plays a bigger role in facilitating the easy movements of people and goods from one place to another. The construction of these infrastructural facilities requires engineering designs and the work is eased by earth moving construction equipments which are the basic machineries used to accomplish the task. SHANTUI Construction machinery company Ltd is a Chinese based company with its representatives in Dar es Salaam has been providing a solution to Tanzanian contractors, miners and real estate developers by supplying its construction equipment products in Tanzania market. The firm is one of the Chinese large scale enterprise which manufactures earth moving construction machinery for road building and which are used for excavation in mining sites and also provides relevant spare parts. Its products which have been sold in Tanzania includes heavy duty construction machinery such as Bulldozers, Road roller, Forklifts, Wheel loaders, Motor graders, and Scrapers. These are being supplied vide specific orders. Others are CATIC light duty trucks and vans which are also manufactured in China with some Japanese technology. Complete range of these vehicles involve 3 and a quarter tone trucks, 4 tone Tipper trucks, 1 tone van and pickups. The light duty trucks have been on sale since 2000, whereby up to now the company has sold more than 240 units.

One of the Shantui most quality construction equipments

The firm also supplies agricultural machine implements such as tractors. These are DFH 180 and. 18 HP 2WD tractors complete with ploughs, harrows, trailers and planters. The main groups of customers for these tractors are mostly small hold farmers. The tractors have been in Tanzanian soil since 2001. Other types of agricultural implements includes BY 404. These are 40 HP 4WD tractors which are complete with ploughs, trailers as well as planters. These have been introduced in the country since 2001 and their market response has been overwhelmingly positive. The firm, being among the top 50 global construction machinery manufacturers also manufacturers pipe layer, fundamental parts, torque converter, irrigation water pumps and transmission products. The firm has irrigation water with sprinklers with matching power of 6HP, 13HP and 18HP engines. These are being sold in sets with their delivery hoses, suction pipes and other respective accessories. Mixed flow pumps of various capacities, and these are being supplied with their respective hoses and pipes. SHANTUI has its own national level technology centre and has passed ISO:9001 certificate of quality management system, ISO: 14001 certificate of environmental systems and EC certificate. SHANTUI always keeps the advantage of number one at selling income, selling units, market share rate, export volume and profit in the continuous five years in the field of Chinese Bulldozer field. SHANTUI products have ever been exported to more than 100 countries worldwide. The firm has become a strategic cooperative partner of some of world-famous construction machinery manufacturers supplying required parts successfully among industry chain which makes SHANTUI step in the new stage of internationalized development. Standing in the field of construction machinery and mainly developing earth moving machinery, road building machinery, construction machinery, industrial vehicles, mini multi functional machinery.

Africatic Head Office along Nyerere Road in Dar es Salaam.

Special machinery, track shoes and undercarriage parts and transmission parts, SHANTUI is building the most competitive manufacturing base of construction machinery and becoming internationalized manufacturer. For the past thirty years, the firm has been providing great contribution to national economic goals by easing construction sectors in various countries where it operates, thus creating enormous social benefits and enormous economical profits for the customers as well. SHANTUI construction machinery company has representatives worldwide and in Tanzania the company is working with AFRICATIC Limited. This is a locally registered trading company with an International affiliation. It is a subsidiary company of CATIC (China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation) a conglomerate State owned corporation based in Beijing-China. Though CATIOC has been operational in Tanzania through its representative office since 1995, AFRICATIC however has acquired its present status since June 2000. AFRICATIC Ltd is strategically located along Nyerere Road opposite Radio Tanzania building (Now TBC1). The offices includes showroom workshop, spare parts store and a custom bonded warehouse. Since its inception, AFRICATIC has been engaged in selling CATIC light duty trucks As its main trading line. Of late, the Tanzanian market has gone through a remarkable transformation which have greatly affected main economic sectors which include Agriculture, industries and even social sector. This has respectively resulted into increased customer demands of a wider ranges of items. Accordingly, AFRICAIC Ltd has now adapted itself to the prevailing market conditions by expanding its product range to the following current position. After sales services is one key area of the company’s services to its client as is the most important aspect in vehicle and machinery sales, for which AFRICATIC Ltd has to effect. Every vehicle and machinery supplied by AFRICATIC has a specific period of guarantee/warranty ranging from 6 months to 12 months, or kilometers as specified accordingly.

Aviation House nears completion

HOUSING development scheme programs has boosted the real estate industry within the city of Dar es Salaam and its environs. The move is in line with the national economic growth programs that aims at achieving a sustainable liberalized economy. An example of the emerging housing development project is the newly constructed ‘Aviation House’, a property of a state owned organization, Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) which is in final stage of construction.

A newly constructed a State-of-the-art building to be the headquarter house of the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) at Minazi Mirefu on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam city.

THE new building for Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) which is under construction in Dar es Salaam is in its final stages. The project known as ‘Aviation House’ and the State-of-the-art building will be the headquarter of the TCAA. The building is an office block occupying an area of about 7,000 square meters comprising of the main building, restaurant, guard house and a generator house. It has been built strategically at the centre of an open space owned by TCAA. On its completion, the building will hopefully raise the quality and the value of the surrounding The building has a unique design and glass materials have been partly used to specifically enhance the aesthetic beauty on its façade which looks like a curved structure. It’s envisaged that the project will completely alter the skyline breaking the monopoly of scattered houses and its environs. The four storey building was designed to accommodate offices for TCAA activities only, and this is in a bid to ease the current congestion of TCAA’s staff who are located at IPS and Tetex buildings respectively in the city centre. TCAA is a state owned organization that looks after air navigation and safety regulations. Technicians at the construction site are putting the final touches onto the State-of-the-art building which is located about 100 meters away from the main road to Gongo La Mboto suburb at Ukonga-Minazi Mirefu on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam city. The project is being built by a Dar es Salaam based Chinese construction company, Beijing Construction Engineering Group with a building permit No.TBA/BP/143. The company works in collaboration with other sub-contractors it has assigned for various jobs to make sure that the construction is completed at a set time. The construction started in late 2007 and was initially expected to end by June 2009. But due to unavoidable circumstances, the completion time has been revised and all the specific firms are trying to keep the construction at much faster pace in order to finish by end of May this year. According to project owners, the cost of the construction of a modern complex is approximated to be Tshs. 10.5 billion out of which Tshs. Tsh. 5 billion has been financed by the TCAA whereas about Tshs. 6.5 has been taken as a loan from Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA). Aviation house is a landmark project whose construction is well designed with a complemented additional ample parking space in it. The area is enough to accommodate over 100 vehicles at a time.

The back side view of the TCAA’s house

The building is a prime development complex comprising mainly of executive high quality office rooms which have been designed to make the staff work comfortably. According to one engineer, they are big enough, well furnished interior design with locally and imported materials. These are well designed and are completely furnished with the State-of-the-art amenities. The project is being constructed by using both locally available materials as well as the imported ones. The local materials includes, cement, sand, aggregates, doors and paints., whereas the imported materials are reinforcement bars, tiles, ceiling materials, iron mongery and air-conditioners. At the ground floor of the building is located a conference room with a capacity of about 100 people, and a library has been located on the ground floor. The conference room is made up of caustic ceiling treatment materials that filters out noise and is supplied with the Daikin air-conditioning machine and will be equipped with the State-of-the-art projectors. Internally the building has a unique architectural design plan whereby there is void at the centre of the building which goes up to the roof and decoration of types of ceiling fitted in the building. This is an open space known as the central void. Two lifts have been strategically installed by East Africa elevator Co. Ltd, the leading company specializing in lift installation in East Africa region.

Electricity supply:
In order to meet the everyday electricity demand for the entire building, Derm Electrics (T) Limited has featured top range wiring and its fittings that ensures the security and enhance convenience. The firm has done the wiring in all the floors from top to ground floor of the building. The company used the most sophisticated quality electrical products mostly of the UK based products.

Floor design of the building:
Floor design and the detailing of the building was computer generated, spiral staircases directly connect to the upper floors running from top floor to the ground floor. Stainless like balustrade structure have been fixed alongside to help climbers to retain their balance while climbing or coming down the stairs. The quality of a whole building is very rich as most steps and floors are decorated with granite polished tiles. The toilets are well furnished with the beautiful lavatory materials and modern sanitary wares and other rooms have been decorated with floor porcelain tiles of different types covering the toilets and staircase. Therani Associates and MD Consultancy firm, the locally registered architect firms did the design and planning of the interior as well as the exterior part of the whole building., The interior finishing is comprised mainly of plaster and paints on the wall surfaces which has been supplied by Sadolin paint company. The two architectural firms does supervision work by monitoring and checking the quality control at the project site. They work in collaboration with the main contractor so as to ensure together with other things the work’s ethics and specifications drawn are strictly adhered and followed as per the rule.

Water supply and facilities:
Another considerable design feature of a building is that, the designers have provided underground concrete water storage tank reservoir with the capacity of over 15,000 litres of water. A borehole has been drilled nearby from which water will be pumped and stored in underground tank From the underground tank, water will be pumped up to two large storage overhead plastic tanks each with the capacity of 7,000 litres of water to be installed on top of the building. By the use of pressure and gravity, water will be made to flow to various end points throughout the entire building. As per the design, water would be flowing to toilets, urinals, washing basin and kitchen sinks. From washing basin, water would be taken to septic tanks which would be emptied on regular basis. Storm water will be flown from the roof to the basement through down pipes and will be pumped out through the external systems. Other water tank on top would be for other services such as fire hose reel system

Staff canteen under construction.


Other facilities:
Apart from water tanks, the building has also been designed to have highly sophisticated security facilities such as fire fighting facilities. These will be installed by the main contractor when the project is complete and starts operations. Extreme precautions will be made to contain fire disasters with appropriate modern technologies such as fire detection and addressable fire alarms systems. Fire hose reel systems, dry riser and portable fire extinguishers will be made available all along escape spiral staircase which serves as evacuation route when fire erupts. The building has been considered to have monitoring facilities for security systems such as Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) surveillance cameras and other installations such as data communication equipments e.g internet and telephones will be made available wherever appropriate. In terms of structural design, the building has been designed to allow the development of structure cabling for communication purposes. The internet structural design has been provided with the required specifications on all inner beams to cater for trucking for structured cabling, air-conditioning and future desire for centralized air conditioning systems. There will be also two highly powered standby generators of about KVA 400 in a special room which will be used during electricity power cut. Extreme precautions has been taken to contain possible fire disasters with appropriate modern technologies such as the detection and addressable fire alarm systems. Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority is a state owned organization whose mission is to ensure safety security and regularity of civil aviation in the. The firm provides effective oversight and efficient air navigation services while protecting the environment and safeguarding the interest of consumers and the general public.

A fertilizer industry to be built in Dar es Salaam

PEOPLE at the highly congested markets operating within the city of Dar es Salaam who have long been disturbed by the bad smell emanating from the stinking rubbish that stays for long without collection, will now have a relief following plans by the Dar es Salaam city Council to build a fertilizer industry. The industry will receive market residuals as raw materials which in turn will be processed and procured into a final product of agro-chemical fertilizer for use of growing crops. According to the Deputy mayor of the city of Dar es Salaam Mr. Ahamed Mwilima, the construction of a State-of-the-art fertilizer industry will be done at Pugu-Kinyamwezi on the outskirts of the Dar es Salaam city. The detailing of the project is still in plan and will be run by the Dar es Salaam city council for all the three districts of Ilala, Temeke and Kinondoni. Once the plans are ready, the construction of the project would start soon.

WB injects USD 40 million into housing finance project in Tanzania

THE World Bank through the International Development Association (IDA) has approved a credit of USD 40 million (Tsh. Over 42 billion) to support implementation of a housing finance project in Tanzania. The project’s objective is to develop the housing mortgage finance markets through the provision of medium and long term financing to mortgage lenders. The objective will be achieved through the creation of a mortgage, liquidity facility, a possible housing micro-finance fund and a technical assistance and capacity building programs. Tanzania like other African countries which suffers from severe shortage of good quality housing that grows year after year was being compounded by lack of long term housing finance, lack of a formal residential housing construction sector, difficulty with land rights and rapid population growth and urbanization. By strengthening access to housing finance, the loan will promote equitable economic growth which in turn creates jobs and reduces poverty, according to World Bank country Director for Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi. Mr. John Murray. Housing has historically been a powerful force for poverty reduction by raising living standards, creating jobs and increasing the public resources available for social spending.Long term financing for housing was scarce at present in part because lenders did not have reliable access to sources of term finance that could help them to mitigate the associated business and lending risks.

Developing access to housing finance would therefore help improve affordability and construction standards, and encourage the private sector to take a greater role in the provision of housing. Timing of the project was supported by recent significant improvements in the environment of lending for housing. The passing of the mortgage finance (Special Provision) Act No: 17 of 2008 had created a strong momentum in government for the development of housing finance and had also generated a high level of expectations. Many banks in Tanzania were in the process of developing a strategy for mortgage lending. The mortgage market in Tanzania excludes the vast majority of the country’s population from accessing housing finance to improve their housing opportunities. This highlights the need for appropriate housing finance products that meet the needs of those who cannot afford mortgage finance for complete houses. This is the third operation to be approved by IDA for Tanzania during fiscal year 2009/2010 bringing total IDA approvals this fiscal year to USD 250 million (Tsh. 300 billion).

For quality assurance, seek for Multi-Cable products.

MULTI Cable Limited is a locally registered Tanzanian company which offers an extensive range of products in Tanzanian market and neighbouring countries. The company is based in Dar es Salaam city and manufactures quality products such as Industrial and domestic cables, PVC compound, PVC pipes and HDPE coils, Power cables and Hose pipes. Apart from manufacturing own products, the firm also imports high quality electrical items that certifies TBS standards using British standards. These products includes all the electrical accessories such as the switches, energy savers, main switch extensions, bulbs, tube lights and fittings. The firm also has introduced the latest turn UK Alf series for the local people who can afford for low price in terms of manufacturing. This is the second option for the local people for general market. Apart from cables, the firm manufactures aluminium conductors and PPR pipes as well as Hose pipes, HDPE coils and conduit pipes. In order to have a smooth distribution of its products, the firm is well represented with its branches in Arusha and Mwanza cities respectively. The company’s main strategy include local presence and market oriented sales organization combined with a strong service backup.

Quality policy statement:
The company’s philosophy is to become more responsive to its customer needs and be able to attract new ones with a vision to be a cost effective manufacturer and supplier of quality products and services that provides the best customer value. To achieve the most requited targets, the firm has improved the goals in delivering the customer superior product by following the company’s guiding principles of quality first.

Cables:
Multi Cable is one of the first organizations to be engaged in manufacturing of power and control cables. Today is one of the leading companies to cater for the diverse requirements of its clients in the field of power and distribution, thus employing an advanced technological work in cable manufacturing. The company has a wide range of cable products which includes PVC power and control cables with aluminium and copper conductor, telecommunication cables, PVC insulated flexible cables and cords. The company also manufactures special cables as per the customers’ requirement. The company’s cables are manufactured using modern compounds which are low smoke and fumes, slow to ignite and burns slowly when exposed to flames, ignition and spread of fire along cable is delayed. Blinding smoke, choking gases and corrosive acids produced by burning cables are massively reduced that is also giving more time to enable the orderly evacuation of people from buildings in case of fire and costly damage to sensitive equipment from corrosive fluids is minimized.

Insulation:
On insulation, the company is using XLPE (Cross Linked Polythene) low density polythene which has the benefits of slight reduction in insulation thickness and strength, that allows higher current rating to be achieved, and it’s mechanically strong. The insulation has a higher temperature capability that withstand 90 degrees of centigrade operating conductor temperature and in case of short circuit can withstand maximum conductor temperature of up to 200 degrees of centigrade. Environmental stress, excellent abrasion and chemical resistance.

Testing:
The company has a well equipped laboratory controlled by experienced staff and qualified engineers. The company uses high technology plant and machines to cater for the requirement of their client’s high grade cables. The company tests cables before they supply to demonstrate satisfactory performance characteristics to meet the intended application. The company has TBS certificates and are regularly submitting samples of their products to TBS for acceptance tests. These tests includes, Annealing test, conductor resistance test, test of thickness of insulation and sheath, tensile strength and elongation at break of insulation and sheath, insulation resistance test and High voltage test at room temperature. The company also carries two test in its factory, these are Routine test and Optional test. Routine test are tests on all finished cable length to demonstrate the integrity of cable the company manufacturers at their factory. These tests are conductor resistance test, high voltage test, insulation resistance test, amour wire resistance test, resistance of insulation to DC. In optional test, these special tests are to be carried out when required by customer. The tests are cold bend tests and cold impact tests.

Recommendation:
Multi-cable company manufacturers its cables in such a way that they put into consideration that operating voltage of a system may permanently exceed the nominal voltage of the system by 10 percent. The company also recommends that their cables are suitable for fixed protected installations, in lighting, fittings, inside appliances and industrial installation. The company’s products are monitored from wire drawing section to final dispatched with a back up support to its customers by their qualified technicians. The company’s application of insulation or sheath is applied that it fits closely on the conductor or cores and it is possible to remove it without damaging the conductors or cores.

Providing top range engineering solutions in Tanzania

Engineering services is an initiative towards ensuring work efficiency. Through consultancy, a building contractor has to undergo several stages starting from the conception of the project to the time of handing over. A Tanzanian based engineering consulting firm, Lomo Consult (T) Ltd has rendered top range engineering services in planning, design and construction supervision for the infrastructure development for the last 25 years of its operation in the country. The firm is among the few consulting firms which have been registered by ERB Board in the country. The firm is characterized by a professional workforce and offers a wide range of services. Here an integrated approach is adopted utilizing the firm’s broad professional expertise and resources. The field of specialization includes Transport, Civil and development services, Structures, Environmental and waste management as well as project management. In transport, the firm carries out the planning, design and construction supervision of all road types and bridges, from national routes and main roads to urban streets and low-volume gravel roads. The high cost of providing new infrastructure has led to more emphasis on the upgrading/rehabilitation of existing infrastructure. Under civil and development services, the firm combines a number of engineering specialties to provide a coordinated package of civil services for municipalities and private developers in the country. These services includes water supply systems including sewerage reticulation, storm water drainage, irrigation schemes, railway sidings, refuse sites, community facilities and housing projects across the affordability spectrum. In structures, Lomo Consult Ltd uses appropriate technology, combine with an intimate knowledge of State-of-the-art building materials to create economical and innovative designs across the full spectrum of structural engineering requirements. The firm executes the job in collaboration with architects wherever appropriate.

Construction of such State-of-the-art buildings have provided investment opportunities in Tanzania. The above building whose consultancy services was provided by CQS Services Limited is the headquarter of ZAIN Tanzania Limited, an operating cellular phone company in Tanzania.
Lomo consult’s environmental and waste management division adopts a holistic approach to assessing the environmental impact of a project taking on account of the economic, social, ecological, sensory, legal and technical aspects involved. The firm conducts environmental audits and carry out environmental impact assessment for planning and infrastructure projects. Under project management, the firm has the capacity to play the role of project mangers on multi-discipline projects. On training, the company offers training for continuing education in the areas of Project Management, Structural Engineering software and Training engineers for registration on behalf of National Engineers’ Registration Board (ERB). Using an integrated approach, Lomo Consult (T) Ltd vows to provide a high standard professional expertise to a wide range of clients, delivering value by helping them to achieve their development goals proficiently and economically. Its philosophy is to apply its broad based engineering planning and management experience and expertise so as to provide a quality service with respect to the environment and the development needs of its clients by participating in the fast-growing infrastructure development. The firm is led and directed by qualified professionals who are ably assisted by a committed team of professionals with extensive experience in their respective fields of specialization who work under keen management and supervision. For the firm, each project is the direct responsibility of the principal of senior engineers. The appraisal ensures that the quality of design benefits from the full range of skills available in the practice. The practice provide complete structural engineering services on building projects which includes liaising with architects in initial stages of preparing preliminary design, carrying out necessary investigations relevant to structural design, providing information to quantity surveyors for assessment of cost estimates coordinating with other consultants preparing final construction details and supervising site works. The firm stresses the importance of a detailed analysis of the project before design work commences, and the establishment of a detailed work programme within the given budget. Through site supervision complements careful design and competitive tendering in order to achieve a successful project. Adequate site supervision is undertaken to ensure compliance with the designs specifications as well as programs.