LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE HITS DEVELOPMENT OF SATELLITE CITY IN KIGAMBONI

Absence of basic infrastructure at Dege Eco Village in Kigamboni is slowing development of the satellite township and developers are now requesting the government to supply the area with water, roads and energy.

National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and Azimio Estate Housing Limited, who are jointly developing Sh990 billion ($550 million) Dege Eco Village, made the request through the Parliamentary Steering Committee which visited the project’s site at the weekend.

The Speaker of the Parliament Ms Anne Makinda who is also chairperson of the committee, led members to the project site where they were told that for such projects to be meaningful, they need reliable and advanced supply of water, electricity and well developed roads.

The director general of NSSF, Dr Ramadhani Dau said the current road leading into the area needs to be upgraded to reflect the investment, besides reliable supply of energy.

“The ongoing project of supplying gas to Dar es Salaam also needs to be extended to the Dege Eco Village,” said Dr Dau.

Ms Makinda agreed with Dr Dau that there is a need for the government to ensure important services are supplied to the area to make the investment more meaningful.

“These challenges can be addressed by different ministries like water, roads and energy. It is upon the government to work on the investors’ request,” she said.

The Dege Eco Village which has one year of implementation since it was commenced January last year, will be implemented into three phases and phase one will be completed this year.

Phases two and three will be completed next year and in 2017 respectively.

It was noted that the project is mainly meant for the middle and higher income earners, which made some parliamentarians to suggest the need for developing such project for lower income earners.

Dr Dau agreed with the idea, saying there are more than 20,000 acres for the entire project and part of the land will be developed for the lower income earners who can afford the houses valued ranging between Sh30 million and Sh40 million.

“We know that there is a need to have better houses for lower class and that is why we have a number of projects for the classes. For example we have our plan to ensure all slums in Dar es Salaam are developed into modern settlements to accommodate the lower income earners,” said Dr Dau.

The Citizen