Once Upon a Time, Dodoma used to be hot, rocky and barren, but soon the New Capital city will become one of the greenest urban centers in East Africa.
So far Nairobi, the Capital of Kenya is being regarded as the greenest urban center in East Africa, a title which Dodoma now wants to wrestle from the former.
The Institute of Rural Development Planning (IRDP) is embarking on a robust project to facelift environmental status and social services within some parts of the Central Business District of Dodoma and surrounding environs.
Known as ‘Greening and Beautification of Capital City,’ the initiative which is currently at its preliminary stages is being implemented in cooperation with several development partners, including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), UN-Habitat, as well as the African Union (AU).
The IRDP Projects Coordinator, Dr Bonamax Mbasa, reveals here that they were currently working on the feasibility study.
This initial stage of the project, among others, aims at determining the needed financial capital, and other facilities in order to ensure that the work is executed by the required standards and accomplished in time.
The project involves the construction of state-of-the-art shopping malls, installation of quality centers for automated financial transactions service, as well as top notch recreation areas, decorated with environmentally friendly and beautiful gardens.
Unlike other towns and cities in Tanzania, Dodoma residents love to relax in parks as they can always be found lounging at Nyerere Square Gardens, during the day.
“We have decided to execute this project for an array of reasons, but primarily, the major focus is to improve the availability of social services and environment at the heart of Capital City,” Dr Mbasa reveals.
The greening project will be implemented in the corridor area stretching between the College of Business Education (CBE) and Kilimo Kwanza.
The plan was also to improve the status of the Swaswa area which is located nearby the Ilazo and Ipagala suburbs within the Capital City.
For the Swaswa part, the project will see construction of swimming pools, a series of fish ponds, restaurants, areas for online financial services as well as installation of diverse leisure and sports facilities.
Availability of open spaces remains a major challenge in most urban areas of Tanzania where real estate development has been cannibalizing on such public recreational precincts.
It seems Dodoma is now out to correct the mistakes done in Arusha, Moshi and even Dar-es-salaam.
The Institute of Rural Development Planning (IRDP) is a corporate body established by the Parliamentary Act No. 8 of the 1980s. Since its establishment, IRDP has been shaping destinies in planning and research methodologies focusing on the future prosperity of its students.
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