Work on Dar’s BRT fifth phase to kick off in December

Dar es Salaam. The implementation of Phase Five of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) covering 26.4 kilometres will start in December, this year, according to the agency.

The project worth €178 million (about Sh427 billion) is expected to be completed in 2025.

The first lot that covers 13.1 kilometres stretches from Kijazi Interchange Bridge at Ubungo, Dar es Salaam to a 680-meter-long Nyerere Bridge, connecting the Kurasini Ward to the Kigamboni District.

The phase also involves the 9.9 kilometre that stretches from Kigogo (Kawawa Road) to Tabata Segerea Bus Terminal and a section of 3.4 kilometre covering Veterinary Area (Mandela Road) to Mtoni kwa Azizi Ali (Kilwa Road).

Dart’s public relations manager William Gatambi exclusively told The Citizen yesterday that the project’s procurement documents have been submitted to the French Development Agency (AFD) for financial approval.

“Detailed design for the BRT phase five infrastructure has been concluded and the documents have been submitted to the ADF for approval and subsequent beginning procurement of the contractor,” he said.

He said the construction work will start in December immediately after the contractor has been identified, noting that most of the major ground works have been concluded.

He said the BRT projects have been divided into six phases expected to serve over 90 percent of the Dar es Salaam population. He said only the First Phase was operational.

The first phase stretches from Kibaha-Kimara along Mororogo Road, Morocco Area along the Kawawa Road to Kivukoni as well as Msimbazi Street to Gerezani terminal. Regarding the BRT Phase Two project, the Dar Rapid Transit Agency (DART) finance and business development director, Mr Deusdelity Casmir said the construction has reached 93 per cent.

“The contractor is finalising the construction of fare collection infrastructures. The installation of gates and fare collection scanners for commuters to swipe their cards is among the going-on works,” he said, insisting that smartcards will be used to access BRT buses.

Mr Casmir said the contractor is expected to handover the phase two infrastructures to the agency reaching October this year.

“The Phase Two of BRT infrastructure development was supposed to be completed in March, this year, but the contractor has applied for extension. We are optimistic the infrastructures will be handed over in October as agreed to pave the way for the commencement of the services,” he said.

He said the implementation of the BRT Third Phase was under way. “The contractor is working on passenger terminals at the Mfugale Flyover and the Chang’ombe Junction.

The phase involves the construction of the 23.6 kilometres infrastructure project stretching from Gongolamboto to the City Centre along the Nyerere Road.

The project also involves the construction of a section connecting Uhuru Road to Kariakoo in the city.

December, last year, Dart CEO, Mr Edwin Mhede told The Citizen that the Word Bank (WB) had extended the $97.7 million (about Sh219 billion) for the implementation of the BRT phase four.

The project stretches between Tegeta through the Bagamoyo Road and Ali Hassan Mwinyi and the Bibi Titi roads in the city centre.

In June this year, the minister of state in the President’s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG), Ms Angela Kairuki said the government was negotiating with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to acquire $260 million for the implementation BRT phase six project.

The move aims at ensuring that phases number four, five, and six are concurrently executed with the purpose of completing them by 2025.