TANZANIA: HORIZONTAL LINKAGES THE CHALLENGES OF MULTISTAKEHOLDER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

The document analyzes Tanzania's struggle to develop a National System of Innovation (NSI) and horizontal linkages due to low industrial capacity and skill shortages. It focuses on the Central Development Corridor (CDC), a logistics system connecting Dar es Salaam to the Great Lakes hinterland, highlighting how coordination failures, private sector concession collapses, and fluctuating mineral prices have delayed infrastructure progress. While recent improvements in port efficiency and border services have occurred, the study concludes that government-led investment, rather than reliance on mining firms, is essential for multipurpose infrastructure.

• Tanzania's attempt to establish a National System of Innovation (NSI) to create spillovers from the mining sector has largely failed, with no centres of excellence created by 2011 and minimal interaction between universities and the mining industry.
• The development of horizontal linkages is hindered by a lack of technical skills and low industrial capacity; furthermore, the mining sector often draws skilled labor away from other industries, reducing their competitiveness.
• The Central Development Corridor (CDC) faces significant coordination challenges as a multistakeholder project involving five national governments, where the lack of aligned incentives among actors like port authorities and customs creates a collective action problem.
• Infrastructure projects in the CDC have been derailed by both institutional failures, such as the 2007 railway concession to Tanzania Railways Limited which failed within three years, and external economic shocks, such as the crash of nickel prices between 2007 and 2009.
• Recent progress in the CDC includes the 2015 Spatial Development Initiative (SDI) and port modernization, which reduced cargo dwell time at Dar es Salaam from 22 days in 2008 to under 7 days in 2016.
• The study concludes that the Tanzanian government must proactively invest in and potentially retain control of infrastructure to ensure multipurpose access, as requiring mining investors to build shared facilities increases risk and lowers potential returns.

APA

Dolo, S., Togo, G., & Odendaal, M. (2018). TANZANIA: HORIZONTAL LINKAGES THE CHALLENGES OF MULTISTAKEHOLDER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/case-study-tanzania-horizontal-linkages.pdf

Chicago

Dolo, Somine, Guire Togo, and Martin Odendaal. TANZANIA: HORIZONTAL LINKAGES THE CHALLENGES OF MULTISTAKEHOLDER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2018. https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/case-study-tanzania-horizontal-linkages.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dolo |first1=Somine |last2=Togo |first2=Guire |last3=Odendaal |first3=Martin |title=TANZANIA: HORIZONTAL LINKAGES THE CHALLENGES OF MULTISTAKEHOLDER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2018 |url=https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/case-study-tanzania-horizontal-linkages.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dolo2018tanzania, author = {Dolo, Somine and Togo, Guire and Odendaal, Martin}, title = {{TANZANIA: HORIZONTAL LINKAGES THE CHALLENGES OF MULTISTAKEHOLDER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2018}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/case-study-tanzania-horizontal-linkages.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }