Ifakara-Kibena road project progresses in phases

DODOMA: CONSTRUCTION of a 346.43-kilometre Ifakara – Kihansi – Mlimba – Madeke – Kibena road is being carried out in phases, Deputy Minister for Works, Godfrey Kasekenya has said.

He told MPs in the National Assembly that the government is implementing the construction of the Ifakara – Kihansi – Mlimba – Madeke – Kibena road in stages, based on availability on financial resources.

For the first section, Ifakara – Mbingu (62.5 km), construction is ongoing. Furthermore, the contractor for the second section (Mbingu – Chita 37.5 km), has commenced preparatory work for the project implementation.

Regarding the Kibena – Kidegembye section (42 km), the procurement processes for both the contractor and the supervising engineer are in their final stages, he said. Moreover, a feasibility study and detailed design work are underway for the Kihansi – Mlimba – Madeke section (95.26 km).

The deputy minister was responding to a question from Mlimba Member of Parliament, Godwin Kunambi (CCM) who sought to know when a contractor would be secured and commence construction on the Morogoro-Njombe border road, specifically the section from Ifakara to Chita.

The legislator also inquired about when the government would finalise the payment of 4.0bn/- to the contractor currently building the Ifakara – Mbingu (62.5 km) section.

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He noted that while the contractor received an initial payment of 5.0bn/- two years ago, the outstanding 4.0bn/- is yet to be disbursed, hindering the completion of the work. Responding to this supplementary question, Deputy Minister Kasekenya acknowledged that the contractor had received an initial payment of 5bn/- and is yet to receive the remaining funds.

He explained that the current rainy season in the area makes construction difficult.

However, once the weather improves, the contractor will resume construction and is currently focused on working on potholes. For the Mbingu – Chita Road section, the deputy minister assured that the Ministry of Finance is in the process of arranging payment for the contractor to commence work.