Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE Cashew Nut Board of Tanzania (CBT) has launched a ground groundbreaking project to construct a vast cashew nut processing industrial zone in Mtwara Region to transform Tanzania’s cashew industry.
Spanning 1,572 acres in Maranje village, Mtiniko Ward of Nanyamba Town Council, this multibillion-dollar project aims to process all locally grown cashews before they reach the market by 2030.
The initiative is focused to enhance local processing capabilities, boost the cashew sector’s contribution to the economy and address critical challenges in the industry, such as under-processing and inadequate infrastructure.
Speaking during the ongoing Agricultural Exhibition, the CBT’s Acting Manager for Morogoro Branch, Japhari Matata said the project has already begun on 354 acres.
Initial work includes installing electricity, water and road infrastructure, alongside the construction of two warehouses each capable of storing 10,000 tons of raw cashew nuts and fencing the area.
The completed zone will feature 30 cashew processing plants, six cashews nutshell liquid (CNSL) mills, four sesame processing mills and additional factories for various cashew products.
It will also include 30 warehouses for storing raw cashews and other materials.
The CBT is overseeing infrastructure installation and will invite both local and international investors to build processing facilities.
Investors will benefit from incentives provided by the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC).
Rental costs are set at 1 US dollar per square meter annually for land, 4 US dollars per square meter per month for warehouses and 7 US dollars per square meter per month for office space, with a 33-year leasehold and ‘Derivative Right’ to own the land.
The other ongoing basic works include construction of two major warehouses, each with capacity to store 10,000 tons of raw cashew, as well as fencing of the potential economic area.
As per the project’s setting up, CBT is responsible for the installation of all necessary infrastructures, whereby diverse potential cashew nut stakeholders from within and outside the country will be invited to invest into cashew nut processing plants, at the tune of the said number.
“The board will work to inspect and ensure the prospective investors are installing the modern processing facilities in order to attain needed cashew nut quality in the international markets,” he said.
Commenting on other plans, he said the area will also see installation of areas for rolling out various services such as supermarkets, housing for workers, sports fields, restaurants, gas station, police station, fire station and service center for investors.
He said the investors in the area will benefit from the numerous investing incentives to be offered by the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC).
The hub will support the country’s current annual production of 310,000 tones of cashews, with a target to increase this to 700,000 tones by 2025/26.
CBT is working with local authorities to help farmers expand their farms and improve productivity.
The government has invested 7.5bn/- in the project, which will utilize National Competitive Bidding for selecting local contractors.
Tanzania is the eighth-largest cashew producer globally and fourth in Africa. Cashew exports contribute 10-15 per cent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings.
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