‘Bulldozer’ gets things moving in Dar
Commercial capital is on the rise and ready to take on Nairobi
Dar es Salaam will experience the fastest GDP growth over 2017 to 2035 Oxford Economics Global Cities Report
● On the outskirts of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s commercial capital, a new terminal at Julius Nyerere International Airport is entering the final phase of completion.
The terminal, built at an estimated cost of $170-million (about R2-billion), will be completed later this year.
Tanzanian President John Magufuli, nicknamed “Bulldozer” for the way he gets things done, has ordered this.
His style is loathed by some, but he has delivered results.
Across Dar es Salaam projects are going up. Multistorey buildings and offices are near completion.
Road construction is under way, including the Tazara flyover at the junction of Nyerere Road and Nelson Mandela Expressway that leads from the airport to the CBD.
The changing face of the city under Magufuli can be partly explained through his past.
An engineer, he worked almost 20 years in the ministry of works before his election as president in 2015.
However, Dar es Salaam’s rise is also part of a race for supremacy among cities in East Africa. It is in competition with Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Nairobi in Kenya to be the economic hub of the region.
Rapid investments in infrastructure development can change a city’s status. Even the leading city, Nairobi, could be knocked off its pedestal.
Through its airport expansion, Tanzania hopes to increase the number of travellers coming to the continent from Europe and the Middle East.
Tourism has been Tanzania’s largest foreign-exchange earner since 2012 and contributes an average of $2-billion annually — about 25% of all foreign-exchange earnings, according to government data.
Tourist arrivals have been on the rise. In 2015 about 1.2 million tourists visited the country and in 2016 1.3 million arrived.
Airlines frequently flying into Julius Nyerere airport include SAA, Emirates, Turkish Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines, KLM, Oman Air, Qatar Airways and British Airways.
Other less frequent carriers include Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Air Zimbabwe, FastJet, Malawian Airlines, RwandAir, Mozambique Airlines and Air Uganda.
Last month, an Oxford Economics Global Cities Report tipped Dar es Salaam to become one of the fastest-growing East African cities in the next 18 years.
“We forecast that Bujumbura in Burundi, Freetown in Sierra Leone and Dar es Salaam will experience the fastest GDP growth over the period 2017 to 2035,” the report said.
The relatively strong performances of these cities can be explained by political and institutional stability.
This contributes to increased private sector investment, a rise in regional infrastructure expenditure and expansion within the tourism sector, the report said.
But in a sign that it fully intends to stretch the lead it enjoys in East Africa, Kenya said this week that its national carrier would introduce daily direct flights between Nairobi and New York — the first direct flight to link the US and East Africa.
Kenya Airways group MD and CEO Sebastian Mikosz said the move fitted into the airline’s strategy to attract corporate and highend tourism traffic to Kenya.
Another sign that Dar es Salaam is on the rise, and that the good times will continue to roll, is that South African businesses have a significant foothold there.
With the exception of riders on motorcycles, known as bodaboda, and those on three-wheeled vehicles, the bajaji, who weave dangerously through traffic, overtaking anywhere and ignoring traffic lights, pockets of the city resemble South Africa.
Stanbic, a unit of Standard Bank, and FNB have operations in the country. MultiChoice squares off with rival Star Times for a market share in the pay-TV business.
The growing importance of Dar es Salaam for South Africa is in the number of flights SAA has to the coastal city — it flies there twice a day.
Vodacom also enjoys significant market share with 82% in Tanzania’s telecoms market.
Last year, Vodacom Tanzania grew formidably after completing a 35% takeover of shares in Safaricom.
Massmart’s Game brand also occupies significant floor space at the Mlimani Mall, the city’s largest shopping centre.
Popular clothing brands Woolworths, bathroom and sanitaryware retailer CTM and fast-food brand KFC also have operations in the country. Overlooking the Indian Ocean on the slipway front, the Cape Town Fish Market has a prime spot in the upmarket Msasani area.
While Tanzania’s advance has earned some praise for Magufuli, some citizens are counting down the days until his term of office ends.
They are fed up with his hardline rule, and show little concern for the race for supremacy in East Africa.
“These road constructions were ordered by Magufuli and he gave deadlines of when he expected them to be completed.
“The flyover which is being constructed is because of him. It causes terrible traffic delays.
“Past presidents didn’t mind that motorists were using this makeshift bridge used by the army, but no, not Magufuli. He has changed so many things around,” said Elias Njenga, an Uber driver.