City council seeks investor for new Dar bus terminal

DAR ES SALAAM City Council is seeking a potential investor for partnering in the building of a new upcountry bus terminal at Mbezi Luis suburb.

The construction of the ultra- modern bus station at a cost of 50b/- will see upcountry buses currently using the Ubungo Bus Terminal being relocated to the new facility. Dar es Salaam City Director, Sipora Liana, told the ‘Daily News’ yesterday that talks are underway with various stakeholders so as to get an investor for the project.

“The station at Mbezi Luis will have all important services, including a shopping complex to allow travellers get all their necessities from one point,” she said. She noted that the talks were going on well and the project is expected to kick off “any time this year.

” She, however, noted that the City Fathers have taken initiatives to ensure that the status of Ubungo Bus Terminal is improved since the upcountry buses will continue using it as the new terminal will be undergoing construction. Structures at UBT -- including kiosks -- were demolished three years ago to pave the way for the implementation of the Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit.

This led to lack of important services for commuters.

Dar es Salaam City Mayor Isaya Mwita has already approved 490m/- for the repair of UBT. Liana further said that her office has already announced a tender for the repair work and will be opened this week to allow other procurement procedures to proceed.

She noted that the rehabilitation will include passengers’ building, toilets and repair a section of the exit road at the terminal. “Rehabilitation of the terminal will be temporary... we are forced to spend this amount of money for repair because upcountry buses will continue using it as we work to build the new one,” she said.

Liana, however, noted that the terminal will be fixed with lights starting today (August 11) to address the inconveniences encountered by travellers during the night. “We decided to separate the fixing of lights from the rehabilitation tender because we cannot leave people in darkness as other tender procedures proceed,” she added.

Contacted earlier, Dar City Mayor Isaya Mwita, confirmed to have announced the tender for rehabilitation of UBT, noting that the work was expected to start by the end of next month.