The Chief Executive of the Rural and Urban Roads Agency (TARURA), Engineer Victor Seff, has said that during the four (4) years of the Sixth Phase Government, the Agency has completed the construction of major road infrastructure projects in the District worth 262.46 Billion Shillings.
Other projects worth 40.49 Billion Shillings are in various stages of implementation, all projects when completed will be worth 302.95 Billion Shillings.
Engineer Seff said that these achievements were due to the budget increase made by the Sixth Phase Government for TARURA where they were previously receiving a budget of 275 Billion Shillings per year but after the Sixth Phase Government saw the great work of TARURA the budget increased from 275 Billion Shillings per year to 1.1 Trillion Shillings equivalent to an increase of 230 percent.
“Some of the completed projects are the construction of 58.5 Kilometer asphalt roads in the Government City of Mtumba-Dodoma, the 140-meter Berega bridge in Kilosa-Morogoro district, the 75-meter Mbwemkuru bridge in Ruangwa-Lindi district, the 12.5-kilometer Visiga-Zegereni asphalt road in Kibaha-Pwani district and the 5.1-kilometer asphalt road in the Dodoma industrial area”, he said.
He said that the Agency has continued with effective management of projects of development partners of the World Bank and the European Union. The projects are Dar es Salaam City Development Project (DMDP 2) worth 1,136.172 billion shillings {US$ 438 million}, Msimbazi River Basin Development Project (MBD) worth 608.4 billion shillings {US$ 260 million) and 45 Cities Improvement Project (TACTIC) worth 959.4 billion shillings {US$ 410 million}).
Other projects are Rural Roads Improvement and Socio-Economic Opportunities in Agriculturally Potential Areas (RISE) worth 811.65 billion shillings {US$ 350 million}) and Road Construction in Coffee, Tea, Fruits and Vegetables Crops Areas (Agri-connect) worth 138.528 billion shillings {EUR 48 million}).
“These projects, when completed, will cost approximately 3.68 trillion shillings and so far the overall implementation has reached 40% and all projects are expected to be completed by April 2030. When these projects are completed, a total of 1,242.52 kilometers of asphalt roads, 151 kilometers of canals, 56 markets and 39 bus stands will have been built”, he added.
Engineer Seff said the Agency has implemented District road construction and maintenance projects based on policies of participation, inclusion and economic empowerment of the community where 99.2% of tenders for the construction and maintenance of rural and urban roads have been awarded to local contractors every year while 30% of the Road Fund budget is used to award tenders to special groups every year.
“A total of 344 community groups have participated in road maintenance work and by July 2025, 173,760 jobs were provided to citizens in road construction projects,” he said.
He also said that the Agency, in collaboration with the Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF), has conducted an assessment of the results of the improvement of rural roads and their accessibility to citizens, in 2025.
The assessment has shown the significant results achieved after the improvement of the District road network.
“The assessment has shown that travel time to social and economic services such as markets and hospitals has decreased by 17.5 minutes, travel and transportation costs have decreased by 75.3%, the availability of transportation and transportation has reached 86% compared to 20% for roads that have not been improved and if roads are improved to the level of asphalt or gravel, the transportation situation increases by approximately 66% and crop losses have decreased by 72.5% due to the improvement of rural roads”, he said
“The level of access to the rural road network that is passable throughout the year has increased from 24.6% in 2016 to 61.0% in 2025, this shows that a large portion of the rural population has access to transportation and transportation services, which is important for poverty reduction, access to services and economic growth”, he explained further
In the steps taken to address the challenges of capital for Indigenous Contractors in implementing District road works, Engineer Seff said the Agency in collaboration with CRDB Bank has coordinated the establishment of an Infrastructure Bond called “SAMIA INFRASTRUCTURE BOND” with the aim of collecting a total of 150 Billion Shillings to help local contractors access financial loan opportunities and work guarantees at affordable prices.
“A sum of 323.09 Billion Shillings has been collected, which is 215.4% of the target set, while an amount of 223.8 Billion Shillings has been requested by about 276 local contractors for the implementation of road maintenance and construction contracts”, he said
