World Bank credit via a natural resources agency has been inked to eight projects for roads, airstrips, and other infrastructure in national parks, game, and forest reserves in the southern tourism circuit.
The Natural Resources and Tourism Minister Mohammed Mchengerwa graced the signing of the project agreements Projected at a total cost of 157.3bn/- the projects will be executed under the Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth (REGROW). It is one of the key natural resources projects funded by the global lender, where the minister said the project has been lagging behind of late, but with the inking of the new funding schedule, the works will be rushed forward.
They will be completed in time to compensate for the lost days, he said, elated that in the first agreement, four airstrips, roads, and trails will be built in Ruaha, Mikumi, Nyerere and Udzungwa national parks plus the Kilombero Natural Forest Reserve.
This will facilitate tourism, and transport and ease accessibility, while building tourism centers, camp gates, hostels and rangers posts will be done in the second part of the project schedule, along with publishing information portals, he said.
REGROW projects entail improving the way protected areas and their ecosystems are managed in the southern tourism circuit and adjacent highlands, creating opportunities to improve livelihoods and economic initiative for the local communities in the areas.
More than 20,000 households close to priority protected areas stand to benefit from the project, along with farmers in the Great Ruaha river basin, being supported with more efficient irrigation and cropping methods.
Enhanced tourism gains are projected, as limited infrastructure in the southern circuit like airstrips, visitor services and logistical facilities have usually been major obstacles in directing tourists to destinations in the zone.
REGROW projects, designed for the southern circuit, covers Nyerere and Ruaha national parks in the country, the largest but dwarfed in visitations by far and away by the smaller Serengeti national park in the northern circuit.
The southern circuit is home to attractive but less trodden destinations such as Katavi, Kitulo, Mahale, Mikumi and Udzungwa mountain range national parks, whose improvement and greater access is pivotal in rebuilding the future of the Tanzania tourism industry, experts say.
Most tourists flock to the northern circuit, featuring Mount Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation Area, while the southern circuit has a wider span of parks, vast flora and fauna species, virgin landscape and terrains less trodden.