Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Saturday announced plans aimed at reducing traffic jams in the east African nation's commercial capital Dar es Salaam.

The plans, he said, included heavy investments towards the construction of roads and railways in the capital of over 5 million people.

He was speaking shortly at a ground breaking ceremony for the construction of a flyover at the junction of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) headquarters and Mandela Expressway.

He said immediate plans included the construction of a six lane 128km highway from Kigamboni Bridge to Chalinze in Coast region with five flyovers, adding that the project will be implemented under public-private partnerships.

Magufuli said the government has already allocated 500 million U.S. dollars in the next financial year to upgrade the central railway line to standard gauge.

He said South Korea has expressed interest to finance the construction of a 7km bridge from Coco-beach to Aga Khan Hospital along the Indian Ocean to ease traffic congestion.

Patrick Mfugale, Chief Executive Officer for the Tanzania National Roads Agency (TANROADS), said TAZARA flyover project will be constructed at a cost of 50 million U.S. dollars with the government of Japan contributing 46.5 million U.S. dollars and the Tanzanian government releasing 4.2 million U.S. dollars.

Upon construction of the first flyover in the city, traffic congestion will be reduced by 80 percent, said Makame Mbarawa, the Minister for Works, Transport and Communication.

Source: XINHUA