Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE National Institute of Transport (NIT) Rector Prof Zacharia Mganilwa said that the transformation of the Institute into Transport University in top gear as the project is set to move into the next stage of implementation.
The 62 million US dollars funds have been allocated to Tanzania after the NIT being among beneficiaries of a Chinese governments’ five mega transport universities earmarked to be built-in Africa to pursue a more aggressive and dynamic partnership with the continent.
“We thank the Chinese government for their support of upgrading our Institute into a transport university. We are now waiting for them to sign the minutes to allow the project to move for the next stage of its implementation,” he said.
He added: “We are expecting to see the NIT University of Transport becomes the People’s Republic of China’s new icon in Tanzania apart from TAZARA which is not in a good position.”
Prof Mganilwa also said that the NIT University of Transport will greatly help the government to increase the number of professionals in mega transport projects.
He further said that the transport university will have other colleges including
College of Railway and Road Engineering Technology, College of Aerospace Science and Technology and College of Transport and Allied Sciences.
“The Chinese’ Southwest Jiaotong University did the feasibility study for the upgrading of NIT University of Transport on the campus design.”
He noted that the new University of Transport in East and Central Africa will have offices, laboratories, workshops, libraries and student hostels.
The NIT Rector pointed out that the University will receive the highly technological teaching machines to cater for the needs for transport courses including aviation, railway, maritime and road.
“Soon after the Institute upgraded into the University, we expect the better instruction tools from China,” he said.
He insisted: “Apart from Tanzania expected to benefit from the presence of the upcoming transport university, our neighbour countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Congo DRC, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Malawi and Zambia..these countries surround the country will also benefiting, getting chance to bring their student to pursue transport courses here,” he said.
He said as the country prepared for industrialization, there is a need for such investment to go hand in hand with the improvement of the transport sector and experts in the field to control the sector as well.
Others are an expansion of the Lindi Campus for Maritime Studies and Petroleum Technology; KIA Campus for Aviation training while 800 acres of land in Dodoma City are earmarked for another transport training facility.
“NIT as a higher learning institution is undertaking deliberate measures to ensure availability and sustainability of experts in the transport and logistics sector,” he added while noting that experts to be trained will be pipeline engineers, pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, and maritime engineers; aerospace engineers, offshore engineers, mechanical engineers, automobile engineers, safety engineers, Locomotive and Rolling stock engineers and railway signalling and telecommunication engineers.
