A new $200 million World Bank-financed investment will enhance mobility and accessibility in Tanzania’s capital, Dodoma, with 3-star or better “complete streets” prioritising safe walking and cycling for climate-resilient and inclusive active mobility.
In recent years, Dodoma has been undergoing a profound transformation, with the city’s built-up area expanding by more than 440 per cent. An ambitious array of infrastructure development projects are not merely altering the physical landscape of the city; they are also ushering in a new era of economic growth, improved quality of life, and enhanced connectivity for the city’s residents. However, Dodoma’s transport system is in urgent need of upgrades. More than 80 percent of the city’s roads are still unpaved, making it difficult for residents to travel reliably. Resilient road infrastructure is needed to reduce vulnerability to climate impacts.
The Dodoma Integrated and Sustainable Transport (DIST) project will upgrade four arterial roads that connect Dodoma’s city centre to other parts of the country to the iRAP international 3-star or better standard. These roads, which currently have two lanes, will be expanded to include separate spaces for different road users – cars, buses, pedestrians, and cyclists.
Five metres of space will be allocated on each side of the roads for walking and cycling, with features like sloped curbs and textured pavements to help people with disabilities navigate them safely.
The project will add walking and cycling paths, lighting, safety improvements in crash-prone areas, dedicated crossing paths, features to slow traffic at intersections, drainage, and new road surfaces where needed. It will fill in missing links in the current network, connecting roads, parks and green areas.
The project will include two components, creating 45.1km of multimodal corridors and a 60km climate-resilient walking and cycling network. It will benefit more than 430,000 residents (over half of the city’s population – including 222,000 women and 81,700 youth), and unlock economic opportunities by creating over 10,000 new jobs by 2030, while boosting the city’s economic output by 2%.
In 2016, the Government of Tanzania renewed its commitment to the 1973 decision to transfer the national capital from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma. This entailed significant capital investment and the relocation of government agencies and departments to Dodoma. Since then, the shift has fuelled rapid growth.
“Dodoma’s rapid expansion since 2016 presents both opportunities and challenges,” said Nathan Belete, World Bank Division Director for Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. “As the city grows, ensuring access to safe and efficient transport is critical to sustaining its economic momentum and improving the quality of life for its residents. This project will help Dodoma grow in a more sustainable way, ensuring that infrastructure keeps pace with the city’s ambitions.”
“Addressing urban mobility challenges early on is critical to ensuring sustainable and inclusive growth of the new capital city and avoid uncoordinated growth and sprawl,” said Adam Diehl, World Bank Senior Transport Specialist and Task Team Leader. “As a sector with many different responsible government agencies, ministries and private sector players, bringing a holistic urban mobility planning and development is key to unlocking a more vibrant and economically dynamic city. We are proud to be part of this integrated approach by the Government of Tanzania, and hope Dodoma can serve as a model of collaborative planning for other rapidly growing cities across the country and continent.”
The World Bank funded project will be implemented by the Tanzania National Roads Agency (TANROADS), the City Council of Dodoma (CCD), the Land Transport Regulatory Authority (LATRA), and the Tanzania Rural and Urban Roads Agency (TARURA).
The Dodoma Case Study is featured in the recently released The Case for Cycling Infrastructure Investments Report, produced by the World Bank, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) and the Global Facility to Decarbonise Transport (GFDT).
For more information:
English 
Português do Brasil 
Français 
Tiếng Việt 
Русский 
Español de Colombia 
Nederlands 
