FOREIGN real estate investors in the country have been urged to ensure there is technology transfer when in the country for its development.
Speaking during the launching of the Palm Village project, a construction building of four residential units with 220 high end apartments in Msasani area, the Vice-President, Mama Samia Suluhu Hassan, praised Group Six International (GSI) for its utilization of heavy machinery and technology.
“We would like other companies engaged in the construction industry to follow the example set by Group Six International, such as the process of creating employment for the local population when the project is complete, these people can be able to operate the machines and even employ themselves,” she said.
Mama Suluhu said that she was happy to learn that the Palm Village project which will be complete in the next 18 months will employ 2,000 people and use 100 Chinese experts, adding that with a ratio of 1 expert per 20 local workers, technology transfer was highly encouraged.
The Vice-President who had the opportunity to tour the premises prior to making her speech said that she was highly impressed with what she saw and had no doubt that the apartment building will add beauty to the city of Dar es Salaam when complete, but threw the challenge of reducing costs. “Tanzania has started taking quick paces towards industrialization and the attainment of a middle income economy.
Whilst this is happening, for more people to live in these apartments, the prices need to reduce,” she said. Mama Suluhu pledged that the government will continue its unwavering support and called upon the Tanzania Investment Centre and the Ministry of Land to be close to the project and ensure any unnecessary hurdles are removed.
The Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Charles Mwijage, joined the Vice- President in congratulating GSI for the importation of technology, saying that in the 10 years that the company has been operating in the country, the technology and innovation has been increasing over the years.
Mr Mwijage said that in recent years, the company through innovation had helped local contractors and technicians to change the way they work and how to do things differently. He cited that the Palm Village project was among the biggest ones in the country with a total investment of over 70 million US Dollars.
“While we are very proud of this project, we would like to encourage other Chinese companies to follow the example of GSI and utilize the title deed from the Tanzania Investment Centre and that such projects should go to other regions even as far as Kigoma and Tabora,” he explained.
The GSI Managing Director, Mr Janson Huang, said that Palm Village consists of four residential buildings with 220 high end apartments, one commercial tower with a 120- room hotel and 10,000sq metres of office space as well as 8000sq metres of retail areas, basically a state of the art community where everything is under one roof.
Mr Huang said that Tanzania needs high quality houses and decent life and that the Palm Village was a good example of that and that what inspired them to start the project was that they realized people have the desire to seek for decent living environment.
“A living place is not just a bed to sleep on, and a workplace is not just a desk to sit behind. Tanzania is developing so fast that people are capable of pursuing better life,” he cited. According to the 2016 Tanzania Construction Market Report, the construction industry has continued its steady growth throughout 2015.
The industry is pushing growth in the country, with a second quarter contribution to GDP of 13.2 per cent, compared to average annual GDP for 2015 of an estimated 7 per cent.
/Daily News.
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