DAR ES SALAAM: THE University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) has signed contracts with five contractors for construction of 21 buildings worth 45.9bn/- under the Higher Education for Economic Transformation (HEET) Project.
The institution also signed a contract with MD Consultancy Limited for consultancy and supervision of the construction of four buildings at Kagera campus worth 916.9m/-.
The project is going to be implemented in Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Kagera and Lindi.
The signing of the contracts was witnessed by former President Jakaya Kikwete who is also UDSM Chancellor, Deputy Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Omari Kipanga who was the guest of honour at the occasion, UDSM Council members, Kagera Regional Commissioner, Ms Hajat Mwasa, Regional Administrative Secretary and District Executive Directors from where the projects will be implemented.
The construction companies are Mohammed Builders which will construct the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere campus, Mlimani, College of Engineering and Technology (CoET)- Lot 1- worth 9.052bn/- and Lot 2- worth 6.6bn/-, B.H Ladwa will construct the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Mlimani, College of Information and Communication Technology (CoICT) – Kijitonyama Lot 3- worth 6.459bn/-.
Others are Til Construction who will construct Institute of Marine Science (IMS)- Buyu, Zanzibar Lot 1 worth 10.1bn/- and Shandong Hi-Speed to construct Lindi Campus (Ngongo and Ruangwa) worth 13.7bn/-.
Speaking shortly after the signing ceremony, held in Dar es Salaam on Thursday, Mr Kipanga said the implementation of the HEET project is in line with the National Development Vision of 2025 and CCM Election Manifesto 2020-2025.
“The HEET project aims at strengthening the industrial economy to match with the middle-income economy and increase employment opportunities for various groups,” said Kipanga.
He asked the contractors to work with speed and complete the project on time and with the intended quality.
“We are already late since this project was supposed to start in 2021, so speeding up the construction and all other required activities is needed to meet the deadline of 2026, and we want to see value for money,” said Kipanga.
Mr Kipanga said the HEET project is a five-year scheme worth 425 million US dollars equivalent to 972bn/- provided by World Bank as loan. The money has been allocated various higher learning institutions in the country, aiming at making transformation in higher education in the country.
“UDSM has been given a huge amount compared to other institutions, it was not by chance, it is because this is the oldest University and as the champion of higher learning studies, the government therefore expects a lot from you,” said Mr Kipanga.
However, the UDSM Vice Chancellor, Prof William Anangisye said at least 47 million US dollars has been received.
Speaking on the challenges, the Vice-Chancellor said the increase of construction cost was one of the biggest challenges. He said 3million US dollars was increased on the budget for the construction of Buyu phase II.
Prof Anangisye asked the ministry to look into the possibility of allocating 3 million US dollars to meet the actual cost of 5 million US dollars for completion of the work.
For his part, Dr Kikwete said as Chancellor he will make close monitoring to ensure that the work is implemented at high quality and delivered on time.
“I will be making a lot of trips to Lindi even when I’m going to visit my in-laws. I will be passing to these sites to check how the work is going on. I want to work well so that when I finish my tenure as Chancellor, I can be in a better position to convince the president to extend my term,” said Dr Kikwete.
For their part, the contractors Mohammed Builders Limited Managing Director, Mr Taher Jafferji and MD Consultancy Limited Principal Architect, Mr Dadley Mawalla said they will carry out their works by observing professionalism to ensure efficiency and productivity to show the value for money as they were alumni of UDSM.
