VP lures Afreximbank to build medical centre of excellence

THE African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has expressed interest in investing in the construction of a medical centre of excellence and an institution of international quality standards in Tanzania.

Afreximbank revealed this during a meeting with Vice-President Dr Philip Mpango on the sideline of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) annual conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

According to Dr Mpango, the government acknowledges the bank’s role in financing significant projects such as energy and how it supplies capital to Tanzania’s private sector, particularly banks.

Afreximbank is a pan-African multilateral trade finance institution created in 1993 under the auspices of the African Development Bank. It is headquartered in Cairo; Egypt with the vision to be the trade finance bank for Africa.

“I would highly urge you to consider building the medical centre of excellence in Dodoma because the city is currently developing a new international airport with funding from the AfDB.

“The goal is to have the planes begin landing there before the end of the year, because the city is connected by decent highways from Dar es Salaam through Dodoma to Western Tanzania and Lake Victoria, so easy access to Dodoma shouldn’t be an issue,” he pointed out.

Dr Mpango is in Egypt to represent President Samia Suluhu Hassan at the AfDB annual meeting.

In another development, Dr Mpango met with AfDB President Dr Akinwumi Adesina and discussed several topics related to Tanzania and the bank’s cooperation on infrastructure’s development projects, particularly the implementation of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Uvinza in Tanzania to Gitega in Burundi.

The meetings were attended by the Minister of State Office of the Vice-President, Union and Environment Dr Selemani Jafo, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Planning Dr Natu Mwamba, Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Finance and Planning – Zanzibar Dr Juma Malik Akili, Ambassador of Tanzania to Egypt, Emmanuel Nchimbi, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation International Cooperation Director, Ambassador Noel Kaganda as well as the Advisor to the President on Climate Change, Dr Richard Muyungi.

Speaking at the opening of the annual meeting, Dr Adesina said Africa must set up itself to manufacture lithium-ion batteries to tap into the future market of electric vehicles, where projections estimate it to run into several trillions of dollars in the future.

“The cost of establishing a lithium-ion precursor factory in Africa is three times less expensive than in the US or China,” he said.

Dr Adesina further said the future before Africa is full of challenges on climate change, but massive opportunities for green growth of our economies. To mobilise a lot more private financing for climate change and green growth, governments and development partners should take five approaches.

First, establish national development plans for green transition for their economies. Second, subsidise green industries to spur growth and raise demand, profitability and sustainability.

Third, multilateral and bilateral financial institutions should provide guarantees to help de-risk investments by the private sector. Fourth, support should be provided for the preparation and development of bankable projects that can provide high-risk-adjusted returns to the private sector.

And fifth, existing public-financed infrastructure should be transferred to the private sector- what we call asset recycling to mobilise more the private sector resources for greener infrastructure.