Tanzania National Roads Agency Explained: What Tanroads Does
TANZANIA · ROADS
Key Facts
- —The country Tanzania is an East African country whose roads, rail and ports carry freight to landlocked neighbours such as Zambia.
- —Why it matters Tanroads is the national agency that builds and maintains the main roads, so its management shapes freight costs and road safety.
- —Why now The Works Minister removed the acting head of its Songwe office after a night inspection on 15 October and told every regional manager to run projects openly.
- —What happened Tanroads was created on 1 July 2000 as a government executive agency, and it now works from Dodoma under the Ministry of Works.
- —The numbers The agency manages 37,435 kilometres (about 23,260 miles) of roads, has 26 regional managers and lists 79 weighbridge sites.
- —What it means for US readers Firms that ship goods through Dar es Salaam to Zambia rely on roads that Tanroads supervises, so its oversight affects delivery times.
- —Still open Who will lead the Songwe office, whether other managers face review, and how the agency updates its network figures.
The Tanzania National Roads Agency, known as Tanroads, builds, maintains and supervises the country’s main roads on behalf of the Ministry of Works. It was created on 1 July 2000 as an executive agency under a government order published in the official gazette.
It is in the news because its acting Songwe regional manager was removed after a night inspection on 15 October, as set out in Tanzania Removes Tanroads Songwe Head Oct 15. This guide explains what the agency does, how it is organised and what that removal says about its chain of command.
For US readers, the agency matters because the roads it runs carry freight towards Zambia and other landlocked neighbours. A late road at a border post can add cost to every truck that passes.
What the Tanzania National Roads Agency Does
The agency’s published mission is to manage the national road network by planning, designing, building and maintaining roads. Its vision statement also mentions airports, though the pages reviewed give no airport figures.
Tanroads says it manages 37,435 kilometres (about 23,260 miles) of roads under the Roads Act of 2007, using classifications updated up to June 2015. It puts trunk roads at 12,527 kilometres (about 7,780 miles) and regional roads at 23,939 kilometres (about 14,875 miles).
The agency publishes separate maps for trunk roads and regional roads, which are its two main road classes. It also publishes a distance chart, tender notices and a list of projects by stage, from design to completion.
Its stakeholders include contractors, consultants, investors and development partners, and its site lists 685 staff. Its road projects are built by contractors, which makes supervision a central task.
How Tanroads Is Organised From Dodoma to Songwe
The head office in Dodoma has directorates for business support, maintenance, projects, planning, and procurement and contracts. Separate units handle legal affairs and internal audit.
The agency’s list names 26 regional managers, one for each mainland region, though its Songwe entry still shows the removed acting head. These managers answer for the projects, weighbridges and maintenance in their own areas.
On 15 October Chief Executive Mohamed Besta signed a contract worth 59.49 billion Tanzanian shillings (about US$22.6 million) for drainage works at Boko-Basihaya in Dar es Salaam. The deal with China Gezhouba Group runs for 14 months and shows how the agency hires outside builders.
Shilling amounts in this article are converted at the Bank of Tanzania mid-point of about 2,634 per US dollar on 16 October 2026. The results are rounded and approximate.
The Works Minister, Masanja Kadogosa, also deals with the managers directly. On 7 October he met the Arusha, Manyara, Kilimanjaro and Tanga managers in Arusha and told them to clear drains, culverts and bridges before the El Niño rains.
A guidance note on the agency’s site asks every region to map its riskiest locations and to close unsafe roads until engineers clear them. It also asks for a Top 20 priority list and at least one emergency drill in each region.
Weighbridges, Border Roads and the Zambia Corridor
The agency’s site lists 79 weighbridge sites, where heavy trucks are weighed, and two of them are in Songwe region. One is Mpemba, which lies near Tunduma, the border town facing Zambia.
In November 2024 the Songwe regional manager told The Citizen that trucks cleared at Mpemba had risen from 1,600 a day to 3,000. He said the weighbridge can handle 60 trucks an hour and that narrow roads and too little parking caused the congestion.
He described a turn-up area that was 98 percent complete and a smart parking area for up to 5,000 trucks under construction. Drivers blamed a scanner at Nakonde in Zambia that they said ran only 12 hours a day.
That split shows the limits of the agency’s role. Tanroads can widen roads and add parking on the Tanzanian side, but customs scanners and permits on the Zambian side are outside its control.
The wider trade picture is covered in Tanzania Neighbours Explained, East Africa Borders and Trade and Tanzania Explained: The Country, Its Politics, Its Economy and What to Watch. Freight alternatives to the road are set out in Tanzania Targets 1,500 Rail Containers a Day.
What It Means for US Readers
American firms that ship goods through Dar es Salaam to Zambia depend on road conditions that Tanroads sets and supervises. A clear chain of command, from the minister to the regional manager, makes it easier to see who answers for a late project.
Contractors and lenders working with the agency may face closer checks on supervision and payments after the minister’s order. Large contracts, such as the US$22.6 million drainage deal, show that the agency handles sizeable budgets.
Travellers who drive in Tanzania should expect rain-related closures from October, which fall to the same regional managers. A separate road-safety story is told in Tanzania Road Crashes Kill 32 in Morogoro Overnight, and local conditions should be checked before any long drive.
What Is Not Known
The agency’s total of 37,435 kilometres does not match its own sub-totals, which add up to 36,466 kilometres. It is also unclear whether road reclassifications since June 2015 have changed the network.
The pages reviewed do not state an annual budget, so none is given here. They also do not explain how regional managers are chosen or how long an acting appointment can last.
It is not known who will lead the Songwe office next, or whether other regional managers will be reviewed. The agency’s news page showed no statement on the removal on 16 October.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Tanroads?
Tanroads is the Tanzania National Roads Agency, an executive agency that works under the Ministry of Works. It manages the country’s main roads from its head office in Dodoma.
How long is the road network Tanroads manages?
Its website gives a total of 37,435 kilometres (about 23,260 miles). That figure rests on road classifications updated up to June 2015.
Who runs Tanroads day to day?
Chief Executive Mohamed Besta leads the agency from Dodoma. Regional managers run its offices in each mainland region.
What are Tanroads weighbridges?
They are sites where trucks are weighed, some of them with weigh-in-motion systems. The agency’s website lists 79 of them across the country.
Why does Tanroads matter at Tunduma?
It supervises the roads and the Mpemba weighbridge near the border town, which sits on the route to Zambia. A road project there lies behind the removal of its acting Songwe manager after the 15 October inspection.
Sources: Tanroads, home page and about us, 16 October 2026; Tanroads, regional managers; Tanroads, weighbridges; Tanroads, 8 October 2026; Tanroads, 15 October 2026; The Citizen, 14 November 2024; HabariLeo, 16 October 2026; Bank of Tanzania, exchange rates, 16 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
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