New Sh70 billion road to unlock southern circuit tourism

Dar es Salaam. The Tanzania National Roads Agency (Tanroads) has signed a Sh69.75 billion contract with a Chinese company to construct 36.3 kilometres of tarmac road from Kitulo to Kibiho in Makete District, with the goal of maximising tourism potential in the southern circuit.

The project is part of a larger plan to construct a 96.2-kilometre tarmac road from Isyonje to Makete town, connecting Njombe (Makete District) with its neighbour, Mbeya Region, thus simplifying transportation of people and goods.

At the signing ceremony, the minister for Works and Transport, Prof Makame Mbarawa, said: “The government has decided to begin constructing from Kitulo to Kibiho because we want this section to be traversable at all times.”

According to the minister, the aforementioned segment impedes the smooth flow of people and products, particularly during wet seasons, therefore upgrading it to a tarmac level will make it easier to reach the Kitulo National Park, thereby unlocking its potential. “The China National Aero-International Engineering Corporation, which is in charge of construction, was given this tender due to their fair estimation,” he observed.

Kitulo Park is most renowned for the abundance of flower species that bloom throughout the plateau. And its stunning orchids, proteas, geraniums, and huge lobelias, particularly from December to March, have earned the ark the nickname “God’s Garden.” The completion of the Kitulo-Kibiho road project will provide easy access to the park in all seasons, as visitors currently prefer to visit the park, which was designated as one of the seven natural wonders in 2014, during the dry season, despite the fact that the best time is during the rainy season. Earlier, Njombe Regional Commissioner Antony Mtaka noted that the said national park was difficult to reach due to poor infrastructure, but it is a habitat for migratory birds migrating thousands of kilometres from Europe to Tanzania. Mr Mtaka believes that the park’s underdevelopment, along with poor road infrastructure, has resulted in a limited flow of visitors; thus, the construction of the stated road would make it simpler to highlight Tanzania’s heritage in the southern circuit. According to media reports, the country’s nature-based tourism receives more than a million tourists each year; nevertheless, the southern circuits account for less than 10 percent of all visitors to Tanzania’s national parks and less than 1.5 percent of park earnings.

Mr Mtaka added: “Local and international visitors can arrive at Songwe airport and travel to Kitulo Park. Kitulo bird movement, like the Serengeti wildebeest migration, is a hidden gem that President Samia’s administration wishes to reveal to the world.”

During her Njombe tour in August this year, President Samia Suluhu Hassan revealed that the second part of the Royal Tour documentary, to be known as The Hidden Tanzania, was in the pipeline and will include Kitulo National Park in Njombe Region.