TANZANIA · MINING
Key Facts
- —The country Tanzania is an East African country where Barrick, the Toronto-based gold miner listed in New York, runs two gold mines with the government.
- —What happened On Sunday 11 October, Habari Leo reported that Tanzania’s roads agency expects the Bulyanhulu road to be finished in December.
- —The numbers Work is 89% complete and the first 36 km from Kahama are finished, with 460 people employed, 42 of them Chinese.
- —Who pays Barrick and the government fund it through their joint company, Twiga Minerals; Barrick put the pledge at US$40 million in 2024.
- —The builder The contractor is CCECC, a Chinese construction company, with engineers from Tanzania’s national roads agency supervising the work.
- —Still open Officials gave no exact opening day and no updated cost for the Bulyanhulu road.
Tanzania’s Bulyanhulu road, a 73-kilometre highway paid for with money from Barrick, the gold miner listed in New York, should be finished in December. Marco Bee, the project supervisor at the Tanzania National Roads Agency, gave the date to reporters at the site.
The Swahili daily Habari Leo reported his remarks on Sunday 11 October. The road runs from Manzese in the town of Kahama to Kakola, next to Barrick’s Bulyanhulu gold mine in north-western Tanzania.
What the Roads Agency Said at the Site
The Tanzania National Roads Agency, known as TANROADS, is the government body that builds and maintains the country’s main highways. Bee supervises the Kahama to Kakola project for the agency.
He told reporters visiting the site that the first 36 kilometres, from Manzese in Kahama, are complete, Habari Leo reported. Habari Leo is a Swahili-language daily owned by the Tanzanian government.
A second engineer, Samson Mgina, said crews are now laying a cement layer, a stage close to completion before the asphalt goes on. That upper-layer work has reached kilometre 60, and the whole project stands at 89%.
In early September, John Kalando, a TANROADS engineer in Shinyanga, put the job at 88.1%, the state-owned Daily News reported. He said 36 kilometres had been paved by then.
Work formally began in mid-2024. In March, Bee told The Citizen, a Dar es Salaam daily, that the job was about 65% complete.
He said then that he expected completion within the 27 months agreed in the contract. Work was progressing despite challenges from the rain, he added.
Who Pays for the Bulyanhulu Road
Habari Leo says the Bulyanhulu road is funded by Barrick’s Bulyanhulu mining company together with the government. Barrick Mining Corporation is a Toronto-based gold and copper producer whose shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
Barrick runs its Tanzanian mines through Twiga Minerals, a company it owns jointly with the government. Under a deal announced in January 2020, Barrick owns 84% of the mines, the state 16%, and the two share economic benefits 50/50.
In January 2024, Barrick said Twiga was progressing a US$40 million pledge to build a 73-kilometre road to the Kahama airport. In March, The Citizen put the cost at Sh101.2 billion (about US$38 million), at about 2,635 shillings to the US dollar on 12 October 2026.
The contractor is CCECC, a Chinese construction company. Of the 460 people formally employed on the project, 418 are Tanzanian and 42 are Chinese citizens, Bee said.
Built to Survive the Rainy Season
Residents have long complained that the old unpaved road became hard to use in the rains, The Citizen reported in March. They spoke of slow trips, damaged vehicles and high fares.
Bee said all 14 box culverts, the large concrete channels that carry water under a road, are finished. Crews have also built 148 pipe culverts and raised embankments to limit flood damage, especially during El Niño rains.
Street lights will go up in populated areas such as Segese, a settlement halfway along the route. In Segese, the main work is done, and only road markings and finishing remain.
In September, Kalando said 206 street lights would be installed in eight settlements, including Manzese, Segese, Ilogi and Kakola. The lights are meant to make night driving safer and help local businesses.
Stone for the road comes from a quarry divided into four stages, with its own crusher and concrete-mixing plant. Mgina said this setup helps crews work faster.
What It Means for US Readers
For US shareholders in Barrick, Bulyanhulu is one of two Tanzanian mines the company runs with the state. Barrick describes it as a narrow-vein mine with gold, silver and copper, about 55 kilometres south of Lake Victoria.
In its second-quarter report, filed with US regulators in August, Barrick still listed its share of Bulyanhulu and North Mara at 84%. Earlier this month, Tanzania urged local firms to win a bigger share of mining contracts.
The road is paid for with mining money from a company listed in New York, but it is being built by CCECC, a Chinese contractor. The Citizen says it should also help cargo move through Kahama towards Rwanda and Uganda.
What Is Not Known
TANROADS has not given an exact opening day in December. Officials have not given a final cost, so it is unclear whether it will stay close to Barrick’s US$40 million pledge.
It is also unclear when the street lights will be switched on along the Bulyanhulu road. Officials have not said how much traffic they expect once the asphalt is complete.
More: Tanzania news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the Bulyanhulu road?
It runs 73 kilometres from Manzese in Kahama to Kakola, beside Barrick’s Bulyanhulu gold mine. Both are in Shinyanga region in north-western Tanzania.
When will the Bulyanhulu road be finished?
The Tanzania National Roads Agency expects completion in December, Habari Leo reported on 11 October. Work stood at 89% at the time.
Who is paying for the road?
Barrick and the Tanzanian government fund the Bulyanhulu road through Twiga Minerals, their joint mining company. Barrick put its pledge at US$40 million in 2024.
Who is building the road?
The Chinese contractor CCECC is building it under supervision from Tanzania’s national roads agency. The project employs 460 people, 418 of them Tanzanian.
Why does this matter to US investors?
Barrick’s shares trade in New York, and Bulyanhulu is one of its two Tanzanian mines. The government owns 16% of those mines and shares their economic benefits 50/50.
Sources: Habari Leo, 11 October 2026; Daily News, 9 September 2026; The Citizen, 24 March 2026; Barrick Mining Corporation, Tanzanian mines release, 21 January 2024; Barrick Mining Corporation, Q2 2026 MD&A (SEC Form 6-K), 10 August 2026; Barrick Mining Corporation, Back in Business in Tanzania, 24 January 2020; Barrick Mining Corporation, Bulyanhulu operations page, accessed 12 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief