New financing approved by the World Bank Board of Executive Directors will help reduce the flood exposure of over 300,000 people, including many low-income communities, in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, writes the World Bank in a statement. As well as improving access to infrastructure and services, it will transform a flood-prone area in the city centre into a green space. Additionally, traffic systems will benefit from fewer disruptions during the rainy season through the implementation of the Msimbazi Basin Development Project, financed in the amount of 200 million US dollars by the World Bank’s International Development Association.
Dar es Salaam, which has around six million inhabitants, is an important economic hub for Tanzania, generating 17 per cent of national GDP, but its business environment is negatively affected by climate-related hazards, according to Preeti Arora, Acting World Bank Country Director for Tanzania. She said in the statement: “Harnessing urbanization to promote economic growth and job creation is a priority in our Country Partnership Framework for Tanzania. This new support will help transform the city into a more efficient metropolitan area.”
The new project, focused on the area around the Msimbazi River basin, will have components including development infrastructure, preventative resettlement, institutions for resilient urban development and contingent emergency response. It will be co-financed through a 30-million US dollar credit from the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation and a 30-million euros grant from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
