According to a recent report by The East African, in spite of the negative impact of the global financial crisis on the Tanzania tourism sector, the country is still planning to continue with plans to construct two ultra-modern centers in Dar es Salaam and Arusha that will target conference tourism in the two major cities.
The East African went on to report the minister for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Bernard Membe, as having indicated that, in the recent months, the flow of tourists into the country has increased and that these projects are coming at the climax of an aggressive marketing campaign by government agencies abroad.
Upon its completion, the multipurpose hall in Arusha will be the largest in the Eastern African region; with a 2,500 seat auditorium, 24 meeting rooms, foyers with the ability to hold 1,600 people and a 250-room four-star hotel, it is expected to be able to accommodate approximately 7,500 delegates.
In addition to these plans, the government also recently released plans to construct the ICC Kilimanjaro, with an estimated overall cost of USD 122 million.
Speaking about the new ICC Kilimanjaro building, a lead consultant from the University of Dar es Salaam, Dr. Beatus Kundi, explained that the state-of-the-art facility will help give Tanzania a competitive edge in conference tourism within the region once it has been completed.
After becoming fully operational, projections have indicated that a profit of approximately USD 1.7 million will be generated in the ICC Kilimanjaro’s first year of operation and will then continue to rise to USD 2.1 million annually in its fifth year.
Originally, this business endeavor was undertaken by the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC), a parastatal enterprise under the control of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, according to Dr. Kundi, both conservation bodies as well as tourism institutions should begin supporting the project based on its potential to contribute to the country’s overall economic stability.
Land is currently being sought for the construction of the facility in Dar es Salaam, the Julius Nyerere Convention Centre, which is scheduled to be performed by Chinese investors.
On the other hand, while the land for the construction of the ICC Kilimanjaro has been provided by the AICC in the form of a 21-acre plot of land, financiers of the multimillion-dollar project are still being sought through public-private partnership.
According to The East African report, while the plans for both of these Tanzania construction projects in the country’s two strategic cities appear well in theory, analysts have said that it may take some time for the two projects are able to actually take off.
