· Vice President Bilal officiates
historic event.
Dubai, United Arab
Emirates - In what can only be regarded as it's boldest move yet in creating
housing development opportunities, the National Housing Corporation (NHC) today
has made a historic step into the global marketplace and successfully completed
it's very first Tanzania Real Estate Investors Forum in Dubai and achieved it's
goal of presenting shovel ready development opportunities with major property
development firms based in the Middle East and beyond.
This historic
event which was the first of it's kind for Tanzania, was officiated by Vice
President Bilal, and in attendance were some of the key decision makers from
the Middle East's most powerful development firms such as Dubai's Damac,
Nahkeel, Jumeirah, and Emaar, whom between the four of these firms are
responsible for some of Dubai's most famous developments including the iconic
Burj Khalifa, Jumeirah Hotels, and the Dubai Mall.
Also in attendance
were development firms from other Gulf countries like Qatar and Bahrain, and
countries as far away as Korea, Sweden, and Romania. Which clearly shows that
there is a growing global appetite in regards to the property development and
investment opportunities in Tanzania.
The NHC Director
General's Vision
The Tanzania Real
Estate Investors Forum is part of the overall vision of NHC Director General
Nehemia Mchechu, who currently heads the largest corporation in East Africa.
Mchechu's tenure as the head of the NHC thus far has been been highlighted with
refreshing and innovative concepts to grow the overall property investment base
in Tanzania.
According to
Mchechu, today's event is a first step in a larger global strategy to raise
awareness of Tanzania as a prime location in regards to the total overall
opportunities and return on investment in the Republic.
"Tanzania
presents a unique opportunity in regards to property investment in Africa.
Because of the the high level of transparency coupled with political
stability and the general peaceful nature of Tanzania as well as a growing
economy and a supportive government partnership which are all key factors for
success that investors are looking for" said Mchechu.
"Today's
historic event is just a first step in our overall strategic plan to make the
world aware of what Tanzania has to offer in terms of investment opportunity
through housing developments" added Mchechu.
Mchechu is
confident that now is the time for investors to look at Tanzania and Africa as
a whole. "It used to be that it was a risk to invest in Africa, and Tanzania , but in today's global economy, it is a
risk not to invest in Tanzania "
said Mchechu.
Key to what was
shared with investors today were three projects that have a projected
development period of 5 years in a phased strategy. This includes two
developments in Arusha named Safari City and USA
River that have 8,000 combined housing
units as well as one development in Dar es Salaam
named Salama Creek Satellite
City which will have
nearly 9,500 housing units.
These three
projects are "shovel ready" meaning that all statutory approvals for
the project master plans have already been approved meaning that all they
require is investment, which is why today's event was so key in regards to a
way of securing the required investment capital to fast track these
developments.
Government playing
it's part
His Excellency Dr.
Mohamed Gharib Bilal in his remarks to the audience pointed out how government
has worked hard over the past few years to create housing opportunities, key to
this are the three major reforms that have become part of the law, including
Mortgage Financing, establishment of Tanzania Mortgage Refinancing Company
(TMRC), and the enactment of Condominium Law and this legislation has spurred
growth and opportunity.
"Tanzania is currently experiencing a boom in the
housing sector" said Bilal "There is currently a housing deficit of
3.8 million homes and growing by 200,000 per annum, this presents a challenge
for Tanzania ,
but also an opportunity for investors. added Bilal.
"Housing is
the fastest growing sector in Tanzania
and we welcome investors from the United Arab Emirates " said
Mbarouk.
According to the
Deputy Minister for Lands, Housing, and Human Settlements Development, His
Excellency George B. Simbachawene, a key factor to the increase expansion of
the housing sector is the PPP (Public, Private, Partnership) in place that
allows the government of Tanzania to partner with the private sector which
accelerates the investment and overall growth process.
"The PPP is
something that is key to the future and successful growth of the housing
sector. Events like this allow us to expose investors here in the UAE as
well as around the world to partner with the NHC and the United Republic of
Tanzania and take advantage of this investment opportunity" said
Simbachawene.
What is scale of
investment
According to
Mchechu the objective of today's forum was to reach investors that have a
capacity starting at $20 Million up to half a billion dollars.
"We know that
the scale of invest that is required does not happen overnight which is why
many of our projects are over 5 - 7 years, however, we have projects that can
meet investors capacity ranging from tens of millions of dollars to hundreds of
millions of dollars, so basically at whatever level that investors want to come
in within that threshold we have opportunities for them" said Mchechu.
Tanzanian's
investing in Tanzania
According to
Mchechu the search for investors is not limited to those outside of Tanzania and that actually later this month there
will be a similar forum in Dar es
Salaam for those in The Republic who are also
looking for an investment opportunity in the development of their home country.
"We have not
forgotten about our brothers and sisters back in Tanzania , many of which are in a
position to invest in our many property development projects and we want to
make sure that they have an opportunity to do so as well" said Mchechu.
Stakeholder
Cooperation
Today's event was
in partnership with the Tanzania's Consul General of Dubai and the Northern
Emirates, His Excellency Mr. Omary Mjenga as well as Special Consular for
Economic Trade, Mr. Cleophas Ruhumbika. The Consular's office took the
lead in coordinating logistics for the event as well as confirming many
investment firms based in Dubai.
"We were
pleased to work hand in hand with the NHC on this very historic event"
said Mjenga. "Key to our work here in the UAE is to provide for and
to facilitate opportunities for Tanzania so today's event was very much aligned
to our general mandate. We are pleased to see that the event was a
rousing success and I am sure that many new doors for investment have been
opened for the NHC" added Mjenga.
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