Transaid, in partnership with the Transport Research Laboratory and the Tanzanian National Institute of Transport has been awarded a technical assistance contract by the World Bank to improve road safety for commercial freight along a key East African freight corridor.

The corridor runs through Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, and Transaid will work with the Central Corridor Trade and Transport Facilitation Agency (CCTTFA) and other stakeholders to promote cooperation between the road transport operators and the public authorities along this key trade route.

The programme aims at enhancing road safety along this vital trade corridor by improving the professional qualifications of truck drivers as well as identifying and promoting the dissemination of good road safety practices.

In addition, the programme will look at minimising road hazards at the border crossings between Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.

Gary Forster, Transaid Chief Executive said: “This project represents everything which Transaid stands for: increasing the capacity of the transport and logistics sector to operate effectively, efficiently and safely.”

The Central Corridor’s road safety programme forms part of the Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program (SSATP) which supports, among its other objectives, the identification and prioritisation of interventions that would help reduce trade costs along key corridors in Sub-Saharan Africa.