There have been several attempts to revive Tanzania’s defunct Vehicle Tyres’ Manufacturing Facility, over the years but all trials to this effect seem to have lost traction.
Except, authorities are not giving it up yet. They have just floated another offer on the plant ressurection.
Located in the Northern City of Arusha, the factory, formerly known as ‘General Tyre (East Africa) Limited,’ has been renamed ‘Arusha Tyre Manufacturing Plant,’ in latest efforts to attract potential investors into injecting funds for resuscitating the dead facility.
The Government has mandated National Development Corporation to revive the tyre manufacturing plant which has been transferred to NDC.
The installed capacity of the plant is 320,000 tyres per annum, not something to write home about, but it should be remembered that this quota was inked during the factory’s heydays, when there were very few vehicles on Tanzanian roads.
Today people buy cars on daily basis with tens of thousands of them plying on the country roads, which means there is ready and ample market both in Tanzania and neighboring countries.
Through its latest publication, the Tanzania Investment Center, profiled a number of the country’s lucrative projects, promoting them to potential partners that will work with the respective firms or state institutions supervising those projects.
The Arusha Tyre Factory was top on the list (alphabetical order Notwithstanding).
The Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) would like to assure all prospective
Dr. Maduhu Isaac Kazi, the TIC Executive Director
investors that we will continue to facilitate granting of various permits, approvals, authorizations and licenses for the proposed projects by relevant government authorities, through the one stop shop facilitation Centre
But during her recently tour of Arusha, President Samia Suluhu revealed that there were plans to utililize the land on which the factory stands, for building more manufactirung plants in addition to reviving the Tyre Factory, so as to create a vibrant industrial park.
According to the TIC Document, there have been several assessments and analysis conducted for purpose of reviving the plant.
Projected costs of ressurecting the dead tyre producing entity, on the other hand, are yet to be calculated.
Due to elapse of several years without the factory being operational plus the fact that it suffers from outdated technology previously used for manufacturing, it has been concluded that the tyre plant must be completely overhauled and installed with modern and state of the art technology before resuming mass tyre production.
Tanzania Investment Center
General Tyre, had at one time in the past, hatched a joint venture with the German multinational automotive parts manufacturing company, Continental AG.
It is still early to tell which partner will the Arusha firm seek for, this time in its plans to come back as World class tyre manufacturing industry for local and international markets.
In between the years, a Kenyan rubber processing entity Yana Tyres, attempted to invest in the Arusha factory but the deal was never realized and Yana is currently also deep in the grave.
Tanzania plans to use the facility as tool for employment creation and poverty reduction while at the same time positioning the country as Africa’s top tyre manufacturer and exporter.
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