DAR ES SALAAM, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The Sino-Tanzania Industrial Park, now under construction 80 kilometers west of the port city of Dar es Salaam, will help advance the East African country's industrialization drive, a senior Tanzanian official has said.
"The construction of the park augurs so well with our agenda to industrialize," Kitila Mkumbo, minister of state in the President's Office responsible for planning and investment, told Xinhua in an interview on Monday.
The industrial park, located in the Coast Region, will be the largest in Tanzania, the minister said, adding that it will be able to accommodate about 200 factories, significantly improving employment.
"Tanzania is opening up for investment from outside the country to increase our foreign direct investment, and the Chinese enterprises are among the biggest players we are working with," Mkumbo said.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Tanzania. Mkumbo said the relationship has remained cordial and uninterrupted for the past six decades.
"Our relationship is deeply rooted socially, politically, and economically," he said, recalling that China helped Tanzania and Zambia construct the TAZARA railway, which enabled Zambia to access the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.
"It is the backbone of transportation between our two countries and other southern and eastern African countries," Mkumbo said.
According to Janson Huang, chairperson of the park, construction of the industrial park, which started in May 2022, is expected to be completed in 2026.
The industrial park includes seven zones, covering agriculture and food processing, building materials, pharmaceuticals, daily chemicals, garments, and equipment manufacturing. One zone will be dedicated to export-processing, Huang said. ■