Mandela Highway repairs now certain

The government has commissioned a contractor for the long-pending rehabilitation of Mandela Highway in Dar es Salaam. The firm has passed an extensive scrutiny by project partners-government, TANROADS and the European Union (EU).

Reliable sources said yesterday that the contractor, MSS, a joint venture of three companies from Italy, United Kingdom and Kenya, has been commissioned. Rehabilitation works are expected to commence next January.

``The screening process was well-guided by a team of qualified and competent experts from project partners. There were several bidders but MSS emerged the winner,`` a Tanroads official told The Guardian in an exclusive interview.

``It was not `wholesale` picking. MSS was appointed on merit basis after meeting standards set by project partners,`` added the source who was involved in the scrutiny.

According to the Tanroads official, agreement between the contractor and project partners was sealed on September 21, this year.

He said the contractor was currently undertaking preparatory works-surveying the project, putting together and importing necessary equipment for construction works to commence next January.

``When we talk of survey, it means taking drafted project design and drawings to the ground as the project survey, design and drawings have been completed already,� he said.

The securing of a competent contractor had locked the stakeholders in prolonged consultations.

At one point, the key project financier, the EU, threatened to withdraw funding if the government and its institutions were unable to start the project by next year.

Recently, the EU Head of Infrastructure, Rijcken Guillaume, was quoted as saying that the financing agreement for the highway signed in March last year remained valid but could be reconsidered if 2008 passed without work on the project having started.

However, Infrastructure Development Minister Andrew Chenge responded by saying that consultations between Tanroads and the EU aimed at securing engagement of competent contractors for the project were progressing well.

I am confident that the contractor will be earmarked soon through a tendering process supervised by Tanroads, a newspaper report quoted the minister as saying.

Tanroad officials interviewed yesterday said: �The threat by EU to withdraw funding is no longer valid because we have already secured the contractor. We are now confident that the project will kick-start as scheduled.

Initially, normal evaluation was unsuccessful as bids were found to be either technically non-compliant or well above the budget or both.

Mandela Highway links Tanzania�s hinterland with Dar es Salaam Port and is thus a crucial lifeline for both the countries and the landlocked nations in Eastern, Central and Southern African such as Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia.