EPZA: Joseph Simbakalia Mentions Two Upcoming Economic Zone Projects

Colonel (Retired) Joseph Leon Simbakalia, Director General of Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA), talks about two upcoming economic zone projects in partnership with the private sector.

“When we started this program, the idea was that if the government established policies for foreign investors, then the market, the private sector, would do the rest. It didn’t work out quite so well. So the next idea was that the government must lead the way, acquire land, enabling the infrastructure, and then let them take initiative. A few years later, the general environment is getting better. Now we have two projects with the private sector. In Bagamoyo we are going to build a special economic zone project, with modern ports, linked to an industrial zone in hundreds of square kilometers. That is going to be the leading project of the entire program, and we have China Merchants Holdings International, a public-listed company of Hong Kong, as a partner. Another partner in the development of Bagamoyo is the State General Reserve Fund from Oman. There you have the PPP: the government of Tanzania is acting through EPZA and Tanzania Port Authority as one party and the other party is China Merchants Holdings International and the State General Reserve Fund. Right now, about 160 km from the city, in a municipality called Morogoro, we are creating another zone, and its construction is due to start in August. It is a development of 10.000 acres, 100% paid by private initiative, a partnership between local businesses, that have a share of 51%, and the other 49% comes from Hyflux, of Singapore, a company with a market cap of around US$ 3 billion. These are two testimonials of private sector appetite and confidence”, says Joseph Leon Simbakalia.