Mtwara Development Corridor
[1] The region and the corridor has been neglected by the respective governments for over 40 years and the recent discovery of oil, gas and various minerals has kick started the development of the project.
[3] The talks of the project began during the early 2000s where leaders of the 4 SADC community members met to create a shorter/alternative path for cargo into the region from the Dar es salaam port.
The Mtwara port and a minor railway link was developed during the British colonial times as part of the failed Tanganyika groundnut scheme.
[4] Post colonial times the south of Tanzania had seen very little development and was often neglected in infrastructure projects as the region brought very little revenue to the coffers.
[5] In late 2004 the leaders of the four participating countries; Benjamin Mkapa (Tanzania), Joaquim Chissano (Mozambique), Bingu wa Mutharika (Malawi) and Levy Mwanawasa (Zambia) managed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to make the Mtwara Development Corridor a reality.
[9] With the high amounts of mineral deposits found in the south along the corridor the Government of Tanzania deemed the construction of a railway to be economically feasible.
The railway line is to cost TSh 8.4 trillion and the Government of Tanzania is looking to implement the project under a Public and Private Partnership (PPP).
The Bridge was crucial to the Mtwara Development Corridor project as it connected the two major highways in the region and was the key to cross border trade between the countries.
[11] With the development of the road and rail links, the transport corridor can provide an alternative route for goods moving in and out of Malawi.
The TSh 5 trillion is project under the Tanzania China International Mineral Resources Ltd (TCIMRL), a joint venture between the National Development Corporation (NDC) and the Chinese firm Sichuan Hongda Group.
The power plant project will also involve the extension of transmission lines from Mtwara to Songea to ensure the entire southern region is connected to the grid.
[16] The kick off of these projects will bring a massive surplus in energy and in the future, the southern region governments plan to extend the transmission lines into Mozambique and Malawi.
