Tanzania and China have signed five investment deals, worth a total of USD 1.7 billion, to be used for infrastructure development, power distribution, real estate and business cooperation.
Among the deals reached is a joint project between the Tanzania National Housing Corporation (NHC) and the China Railway Jianchang Engineering Company Ltd (CRJE) two Chinese companies for the construction of a new financial center in Dar es Salaam and a satellite city to ease congestion in the capital.
Construction of all three projects is scheduled to begin in early 2015 and is expected to take between 5 and 7 years to complete.
According to Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete, who witnessed the signing during a five-day state visit to Beijing, Chinese investment in Tanzania has significantly increased over the years, reaching USD 2.5 billion at the end of last year
Speaking at an investment forum in Beijing last week, President Kikwete indicated that he hoped to increase Tanzania’s exports to China.
From 2012 to 2013, Chinese exports to Tanzania reached a total of USD 1.099 billion, which is nearly twice the USD 495.74 million in goods that Tanzania exported to China during the same time period.
“We can do better,” said President Kikwete.
