Tanzania: A new convention centre beckons for Arusha

Arusha. Finally, the proposed Mt Kilimanjaro International Convention Centre (MK-ICC) may take off after 18 years of waiting.

The ambitious, multi-million-dollar project will likely be implemented, ready for the largest ever conference to be hosted in the country in 2027.

"Should everything go as planned, implementation will start soon," said Ephraim Mafuru, the outgoing managing director of the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC).

Read: How Arusha became the Geneva of Africa

He said on Friday, during the handover to his successor, Ms Christine Mwakatobe, the new MD, that the AICC board has approved the project.

"Some $116 million will be spent on implementation in the first phase," said Mr Mafuru, who has been appointed the new director general of the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB).

He said completion of the new convention centre in Arusha will be timed to coincide with the 50th International Apicultural Congress to be held here in 2027.

The event, dubbed Apimondia 2027, will take place in September 2027 and will attract nearly 6,000 delegates from across the world, including sector experts and bee product producers.

MK-ICC, conceived in 2008, is planned to have, besides a main function hall, shopping malls, classic restaurants and five-star accommodation facilities.

It has been planned to be constructed on a 21-acre site at Themi, a short distance from the city centre, along the road to Njiro Hill residences.

The new convention centre will be part of the AICC, a state-owned agency that manages a landmark conference facility at the heart of Arusha and over 600 residential units in town.

Read: Arusha hotels at full capacity as conferences return to city

Although seemingly too ambitious, senior officials of the convention centre have often defended the MK-ICC, saying it had the full blessings of the government when it was conceived.

In recent years, though, there have been repeated calls for Tanzania to invest in larger conference facilities in order to be a leading destination for convention tourism.

Conference facilities with seamless halls were also needed to meet the growing demand for exhibitions, trade fairs and entertainment fetes.

Mr Mafuru, who served as AICC MD for slightly over a year from February 2023, said plans were also afoot to expand the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre (JNICC) in Dar es Salaam.

He could not give details of the planned expansion of the Dar es Salaam-based convention centre, which is under the AICC and has lately attracted a host of major conferences.

Mr Mafuru said he was leaving the AICC at a time when it has turned into a profit-making entity after making losses for the past 16 years prior to 2023.

He partly attributed the positive turn around for the parastatal under the Foreign Affairs ministry to the revival of some projects that had stalled for years.

On her part, Ms Mwakatobe said she was determined to ensure that the AICC continued with its profit-making trend during her tenure.

One of the measures she intends to roll out is to improve the remunerations and other incentives of the corporation's staff members.

She pledged to work with other players in the tourism industry to ensure AICC remained the preferred destination for international and local conferences.

Ms Mwakatobe took over the AICC after serving as MD for Kilimanjaro Airports Development Company (Kadco), which managed Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA).