Construction of a Tazara flyover at the junction of the Nelson Mandela Expressway and Nyerere Road in Tanzania capital Dar es Salaam will begin in earnest October, resident Engineer from Oriental Consultants Global, Kiyokazu Tsuji, has said.

He said the contractor is preparing diversion roads before the actual construction work kicks off.The flyover is meant to reduce congestion in the city of Dar es Salaam. Additionally the flyover is expected to reduce the rising number of accidents in the area.

“The construction of the flyover will begin on October and we will ensure that its completed within the set time to avoid inconveniences ” he added.

He was speaking on the sideline of a tour by eight teachers from different schools in Japan, who visited the country through Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Teachers’ Programme from July 25, this year.

Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) flyover that has been fully Funded by Japanese government through JICA will cost US$45m upon completion.

The Project Manager, Nobuhiko Maruni from Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Company Limited, said that his company needs a good plan to implement such a big project.

“This is the big bridge to be constructed along this traffic, thus we need to have a good work plan to ensure that it is completed as per contractual period,” he said.

He, however, observed that currently the project has employed six Japanese, nine Philippines and 50 Tanzanians, noting that more Tanzanians will be employed when the construction of the flyover begins.

Early this year Tanzanian President John Magufuli laid the foundation stone for the construction of the Tazara flyover which he says is one of the many massive projects that are ongoing aimed at reducing congestion in the city of Dar es Salaam.

Tanzania National Roads Agency says the four lanes Tazara flyover will reduce 80 per cent of the time spent to travel from the airport to the city centre. The construction of the flyover is expected to take 35 months and will include the construction of a 425 metres bridge.