THE Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has pledged $5 million to support the development of Tanzania’s Expressway Master Plan over the next four years, marking a significant milestone in infrastructure collaboration between the two countries.

Tanzania plans to construct its first toll expressway, a 205-kilometer road connecting Kibaha and Morogoro. The expressway will be built under a public-private partnership (PPP) and is expected to significantly reduce travel time between the two cities.

KOICA’s Country Representative Manshik Shin made the remarks at a forum to examine Korean development cooperation and Tanzania’s Vision 2050 in Dar es Salaam over the weekend.

He reiterated the agency’s long-term commitment to Tanzania, noting that the country is now KOICA’s second-largest partner in Africa.

“Balanced regional development remains a challenge not only for Tanzania but also for developed countries, including Korea,” he said, citing Korea’s own success story in national expressway development.

He highlighted the Seoul–Busan Expressway, Korea’s first expressway built in 1970, which spans a distance similar to that between Dodoma and Dar es Salaam.

“Today, Korea operates over 5,000 kilometers of expressways. These roads have played a vital role in reducing logistics costs, improving mobility, stimulating local economies, and attracting investment,” he noted.

KOICA’s investment will include capacity building for Tanzanian officials in expressway planning and development, leveraging Korea’s 30 years of experience in the sector.

“We sincerely hope this project will contribute meaningfully to Tanzania’s master plan and help pave the way for more balanced regional growth,” the KOICA official added.

He also reiterated Korea’s ongoing support for technical and vocational education in Tanzania, recognizing it as a critical pillar for national development.

“We applaud the Tanzanian government’s curriculum reforms promoting competence-based education. This approach is essential to developing a skilled, job-ready workforce,” he said. KOICA reaffirmed its commitment to supporting efforts aimed at modernizing training institutions and strengthening technical skills from the grassroots level through to higher education.

Gyeongbae Seo, the Country Representative of the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH), emphasized Korea’s support in strengthening primary healthcare services, particularly in maternal and newborn care. Upcoming projects between 2024 and 2028 will target three regions in collaboration with RH&T, with a focus on infectious disease control and healthcare system digitization.

Kim Kyeonggu, chief representative of the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), revealed that Korea has financed 24 projects in Tanzania worth $1.6 billion to date. The projects have covered strategic sectors such as energy, water supply, and healthcare.

“The scale of each project is growing from $50 million to over $100 or even $200 million as Tanzania accelerates its development agenda,” Kim stated. “Our focus is to support that ambition with concessional loans in sectors that will have a long-term impact.”

Eunju Ahn, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Tanzania reaffirmed Korea’s unwavering commitment to Tanzania’s development. He emphasized that the concessional loans offered featuring 40-year repayment terms with a 15-year grace period reflect a spirit of partnership rather than profit.

“Korea itself was once a recipient of international aid. Today, we support Tanzania not just through financing, but through shared values and friendship,” the Ambassador noted.

She expressed hope that Tanzanians would view this support as part of a broader vision of mutual growth rooted in Korea’s own journey from post-war recovery to economic transformation.

Dr Ronald Ndesanjo of the UDSM Institute of Development Studies warned that external support, while valuable, must be accompanied by strong internal systems and ownership.

“Support alone won’t sustain us. We need to ensure that Tanzanian institutions are ready to absorb, implement, and own these investments in the long term,” he said.