ARUSHA SETS UP 387 INDUSTRIAL PARKS, UPS JOBS

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AfricaPress-Tanzania: ARUSHA Region has been successful in initiating 387 industrial parks since the inception of the fifth phase government.

Putting in place the industries is in line with one of the biggest agendas of President John Magufuli, who has since sparked off the industrialisation drive, calling on every regional authority to adopt and implement it effectively.

Of the 387, eight are major industries while medium-sized industries are 20 and 359 small ones.

The Arusha Regional Consultative Committee (RCC) was informed in Arusha that all the industries meet the required standards and have commenced operations.

Presenting the status of the industrial drive and strategies put in the region to the RCC, Arusha Regional Planning Officer, Mr Melchiory Temu said the industries have so far offered employment to 3,335 people.

He noted that reducing unemployment, especially to the ordinary people, was one of the strategies behind establishing industries, while another is to have huge production of goods to saturate the market and engage in exports to get foreign exchange.

He said most businesspersons complain of high price of raw materials, especially imported ones, high production costs and limited purchasing power.

He said there is a challenge in getting capital for their business, things that regional authorities should look into and take action.

He said one of the solutions is for businesspersons to engage more in production of packaging materials. The Integrated Industrial Development Strategy 2025 identifies and provides the direction of policy instruments available to steer the process of industrialisation in the desired direction.

Major instruments include the accumulation and concentration of industrial firms through cluster development, supported by Special Economic Zones (SEZ).

Three waterfront SEZs are planned, including for Dar es Salaam which is linked with the Central Railway Line to constitute the ‘Logistics Corridor’ and TAZARA to constitute the ‘Agricultural Corridor’.

The other one, Mtwara SEZ, is being developed as the ‘Minerals Corridor’, while the Tanga corridor is set to serve the northern and north-western areas of Tanzania up to and including Rwanda.

At the regional and district level, these corridors will link Regional SEZs and Micro Industrial Parks at the district level with the domestic and regional markets.

On business licenses issuance in the region, Mr Temu said currently the number is 93,764 for the established industries and other businesses, and revealed that traders are faced with several challenges, including shortage of packaging materials as only a few industries produce them.

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