Mbeya City has asked private-sector investors to take part in building its proposed central market, a project estimated to cost between 15bn/- and 18bn/-, according to Daily News. The invitation was issued during talks between government officials and stakeholders on widening investment cooperation and finding room for private capital in major development projects.
The city's head of industry, trade and investment, Mr Festo Nashon, said private involvement is needed to get large infrastructure projects such as the market off the ground. He urged traders and other business stakeholders to attend government-organised meetings so they can learn what opportunities exist and offer ideas on how the project should be carried out.
Why it matters
The market is one of the projects Mbeya is pursuing under the PPP framework, and Mr Nashon linked it to the implementation of Vision 2050, which aims to raise the private sector's share of national economic growth to 70 per cent. According to Daily News, he said the partnership model would let several investors take part in the project, which could widen business opportunities and create jobs, particularly for young people.
Mr Nashon said the city has substantial projects that depend on private-sector capacity, from the local level upward, to create conditions that make implementation smoother.
Abattoir rehabilitation also on the PPP list
Mr Innocent Mauki, head of projects' preparation and development at the PPP Centre, said the institution routinely works with local government authorities and stakeholders to gather their views before opportunities are formally presented to potential investors. He said that apart from the central market, Mbeya City has a second project lined up for delivery through the PPP framework: the rehabilitation of an abattoir.
Mr Mauki said PPP projects need to be economically sustainable and affordable for citizens, and must operate in an environment that lets investors work effectively. In his view, such projects should produce real public benefits while keeping the services they provide within reach of the people they are meant to serve.
Mr Fulgence Matemele, an economist in the Prime Minister's Office, Regional Administration and Local Government Authorities, said coordination is in place to make sure PPP projects meet their objectives and improve citizens' welfare. He backed greater private-sector participation in carrying out Vision 2050.
The private sector also weighed in on what the projects could mean for young people. Mr Shitindi Venance, chief marketing officer of Maranatha Company, encouraged youth to build digital systems that could support project implementation and make it more efficient. He also called on Tanzanians to make use of the opportunities the government has created, saying broader participation would strengthen individual businesses as well as the national economy.
The PPP Centre's involvement in market sounding for the Mbeya projects was also reported separately, with the institution stressing that investor feedback feeds into project preparation.
What to watch: whether the city and the PPP Centre move from stakeholder consultations to formally presenting the market and abattoir projects to prospective investors.
