Dar es salaam.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s pronouncement that the government has restarted negotiations on reviving the $10 billion Bagamoyo Port Project has prompted debate on the matter, with some analysts saying it was the right thing to do.
The government signed a framework agreement in 2013 with China Merchants Holdings International (CMHI) and Oman’s State General Reserve Fund to build the port and a special economic zone as part of efforts to transform Tanzania into a trade and logistics hub in the region.
But the Fifth Phase administration of the late John Magufuli dismissed the project, saying it was exploitative and inappropriate.
However, chairing her maiden Tanzania National Business Council in Dar es Salaam recently, President Hassan – who ascended to the Presidency on March 19, 2021 following the death in office of Dr Magufuli on March 17, 2021 – said the Bagamoyo Port project should be implemented for the benefit of the country.
Analysts now say there had been a number of falsified statements during the past administration to justify the cancellation of the project.
SOURCE: THE CITIZEN.