Post news concerning real estate and related developments here.

You can also post stuff regarding mortgages and real estate financing including land deals.

:cheers:

NCAA eyes profitable role in real estate development
Friday, 02 September 2011 22:52

By Zephania Ubwani
The Citizen Bureau Chief
Ngorongoro. In a bid to diversify its sources of revenue, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA), is now planning multibillion shilling investments in office blocks and residential flats in Arusha and Karatu towns.
The largest venture will be the proposed 10-storey investment house in the heart of Arusha whose construction is expected to start anytime after January next year, the authority’s finance and planning manager, Mr Joseph Mshana, said.

The building, to be constructed at the junction of Goliondoi and Makongoro roads, adjacent to the Bank of Tanzania zonal headquarters, will cost about Sh20 billion.

“We are in the final stages of implementation of the project. Architectural drawings have been completed and tenders will be floated in January 2012. Construction will start next year, and will be completed in two to three years,” he told The Citizen on Saturday at the NCAA head offices in Ngorongoro last week.

The Ngorongoro Investment House is targeted to accommodate banks and corporate bodies. The building will have at least two banking halls, office accommodation space for institutions and companies, and the upper floors are intended to be residential apartments, depending on the market demand.

Mr Mshana added that old structures at the plot earmarked for redevelopment have been demolished, and that the authority had set aside Sh2.5 billion this financial year for the project, the biggest in NCAA’s history. Although the project will be largely financed from the authority’s own funds, Mr Mshana said they would also be seeking loans from the banks, adding that several prospective local and regional banks, as well as other investors, have been approached to see whether they were interested in the project in a joint venture with NCAA.

“We are sure that the project is viable,” he said, adding that the demand for housing in Arusha, especially office blocks and residential flats, remains high because of the increasing economic activities in the city.

NCAA will be the third public organisation to invest in major housing projects in Arusha in recent years. Others are the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), which is putting up two multi-storey investment houses in the city’s prime areas, and the Parastatal Pension Fund (PPF), which has two modern residential estates and a hotel building.

PPF is planning to construct an investment house adjacent to the East African Hotel along the Nyerere Road (formerly the Old Moshi Road). The hotel complex was leased to a private operator upon completion in 2007.

The Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC), the largest landlord in town, intends to put a large shopping mall where parts of its Kaloleni estate stand. Some residential houses will be pulled down in December this year to pave the way for the multi-billion shilling project which AICC intends to implement in partnership with some organisations.

“Looking at the market in Arusha, investments in housing is quite rewarding,” the NCAA finance manager reiterated. He added that the authority has spent Sh1.8 billion to acquire 25 acres of land at Njiro in Arusha for construction of residential houses, targeting mainly hostel students.

Plans have also been finalised for construction of additional residential flats at the Kamyn estate in Karatu, where four blocks were completed recently, he said. Some 24 families of the NCAA staff are accommodated there.

Mr Mshana also hinted on a proposal to construct a hotel in the 457 acres land at the estate, which is close to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area main gate. The Kamyn estate was acquired in a bid to relocate the families of NCAA employees outside the protected area, where experts have consistently agitated for measures to reduce human activities.

He defended the corporation’s investments in housing, emphasizing that diversification of revenue sources was necessary in the wake of unpredictable shocks in the global tourism business, such as those caused by the world financial crisis or terrorist attacks.

“About 70 per cent of tourists to Tanzania come from Europe and North America. Should anything catastrophic happen there, we will have no visitors. That is why we have to diversify to non-tourism related activities for alternative source of income,” he explained.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Arusha Region is one of the leading destinations for tourists in the country. Together with the adjacent Serengeti National Park, they account for one third of nearly one million foreign tourists visiting the country annually.

The NCAA official noted that investment in property was an opportunity for the authority to utilise its idle cash deposits. The state-run corporation does not receive any subvention from the government, given its good liquid position.
http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/news/4-national-news/14374-ncaa-eyes-profitable-role-in-real-estate-development

NCAA eyes profitable role in real estate development
Friday, 02 September 2011 22:52

By Zephania Ubwani
The Citizen Bureau Chief
Ngorongoro. In a bid to diversify its sources of revenue, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA), is now planning multibillion shilling investments in office blocks and residential flats in Arusha and Karatu towns.
The largest venture will be the proposed 10-storey investment house in the heart of Arusha whose construction is expected to start anytime after January next year, the authority’s finance and planning manager, Mr Joseph Mshana, said.

The building, to be constructed at the junction of Goliondoi and Makongoro roads, adjacent to the Bank of Tanzania zonal headquarters, will cost about Sh20 billion.

“We are in the final stages of implementation of the project. Architectural drawings have been completed and tenders will be floated in January 2012. Construction will start next year, and will be completed in two to three years,” he told The Citizen on Saturday at the NCAA head offices in Ngorongoro last week.

The Ngorongoro Investment House is targeted to accommodate banks and corporate bodies. The building will have at least two banking halls, office accommodation space for institutions and companies, and the upper floors are intended to be residential apartments, depending on the market demand.

Mr Mshana added that old structures at the plot earmarked for redevelopment have been demolished, and that the authority had set aside Sh2.5 billion this financial year for the project, the biggest in NCAA’s history. Although the project will be largely financed from the authority’s own funds, Mr Mshana said they would also be seeking loans from the banks, adding that several prospective local and regional banks, as well as other investors, have been approached to see whether they were interested in the project in a joint venture with NCAA.

“We are sure that the project is viable,” he said, adding that the demand for housing in Arusha, especially office blocks and residential flats, remains high because of the increasing economic activities in the city.

NCAA will be the third public organisation to invest in major housing projects in Arusha in recent years. Others are the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), which is putting up two multi-storey investment houses in the city’s prime areas, and the Parastatal Pension Fund (PPF), which has two modern residential estates and a hotel building.

PPF is planning to construct an investment house adjacent to the East African Hotel along the Nyerere Road (formerly the Old Moshi Road). The hotel complex was leased to a private operator upon completion in 2007.

The Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC), the largest landlord in town, intends to put a large shopping mall where parts of its Kaloleni estate stand. Some residential houses will be pulled down in December this year to pave the way for the multi-billion shilling project which AICC intends to implement in partnership with some organisations.

“Looking at the market in Arusha, investments in housing is quite rewarding,” the NCAA finance manager reiterated. He added that the authority has spent Sh1.8 billion to acquire 25 acres of land at Njiro in Arusha for construction of residential houses, targeting mainly hostel students.

Plans have also been finalised for construction of additional residential flats at the Kamyn estate in Karatu, where four blocks were completed recently, he said. Some 24 families of the NCAA staff are accommodated there.

Mr Mshana also hinted on a proposal to construct a hotel in the 457 acres land at the estate, which is close to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area main gate. The Kamyn estate was acquired in a bid to relocate the families of NCAA employees outside the protected area, where experts have consistently agitated for measures to reduce human activities.

He defended the corporation’s investments in housing, emphasizing that diversification of revenue sources was necessary in the wake of unpredictable shocks in the global tourism business, such as those caused by the world financial crisis or terrorist attacks.

“About 70 per cent of tourists to Tanzania come from Europe and North America. Should anything catastrophic happen there, we will have no visitors. That is why we have to diversify to non-tourism related activities for alternative source of income,” he explained.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Arusha Region is one of the leading destinations for tourists in the country. Together with the adjacent Serengeti National Park, they account for one third of nearly one million foreign tourists visiting the country annually.

The NCAA official noted that investment in property was an opportunity for the authority to utilise its idle cash deposits. The state-run corporation does not receive any subvention from the government, given its good liquid position.
http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/news/4-national-news/14374-ncaa-eyes-profitable-role-in-real-estate-development

This is great for NCAA to diversify for alternative source of income. Arusha's future looks bright and construction is booming.

Great location for the NCAA tower

Lets wait for TANAPA now...(the tower will be as high as Uhuru peak so as to speak!!!)

Lets wait for TANAPA now...(the tower will be as high as Uhuru peak so as to speak!!!)

aaaah! wacha wee! Tanapa wana-plan tower yao pia?

Monday, 26 September 2011 23:39

Prof. Anna Tibaijuka

By Songa wa Songa,The Citizen Correspondent
Dar es Salaam. The minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development Prof Anna Tibaijuka yesterday outlined strategies she intends to use as part of efforts to cleanse her ministry.Opening a three-day land stakeholders conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday, Prof Tibaijuka said the ministry faces a daunting task of cleaning up its image that has been tarnished by corruption and endless land disputes.

She said the fact that hers was now being referred to as ‘the ministry of disputes’ by wananchi, was a loud wake up call to all employees under her wing, to do their best and clean the mess.

The land stakeholders’ meeting, which takes place every two years, has brought together officials from the ministry headquarters, regional and district bureaus as well as private sector representatives.Lands officers, valuers, registrars, town planners and district lands and housing tribunal chairpersons followed attentively as the tough-talking minister said it like it is.

“Constant denial will not help. Everyone of us here today must undertake honest self-evaluation to find out their contribution to the mess we are in,” she said.

Prof Tibaijuka said apart from dealing with ‘land fraudsters’, the ministry’s other priorities include making land an economic capital, which would in turn become one of the country’s major means of production. She noted that the bigger problem facing her ministry was the chronic lack of respect for laws, rules and regulations, adding that if everybody stuck to the professional code of conduct, Tanzanians - the clients - would have enjoyed better services and the image would have been positive and enviable.

“If you receive an order which is inconsistent with the law, reject it even if it comes from above. You must learn to guide your superiors through professionalism, don’t just say ‘Yes, sir’ to everything” she cautioned.
She said that in a bid to end conflicts between villagers and investors, the ministry has devised a system whereby village land will not be allocated to an investor until local representatives were made aware and play a part in signing the necessary documents.

“Councillors and MPs should attend all the meetings in which plans to offer land to an investor are discussed. They should comply with the plans before any deal is signed,” she insisted.Prof Tibaijuka also talked about the thorny issue of grabbed open spaces and warned the culpable that their “medicine” was on the way; adding that the wise should vacate voluntarily.

“We are set to issue public notice on demarcation of open spaces. No one will have a title deed for an open space and all such ill-acquired lands will be recovered,” she said

Land for investors – another area of controversy and complaints – was also touched by the minister who made a name for herself recently by presiding over flattening of ill-gotten and illegally built structures at Palm Beach and Ocean Road areas in Dar es Salaam.

Giving her general evaluation, the minister said although her ministry had some of the most hardworking and dependable workers in the country, certain unscrupulous employees had chosen the path of selfishness which has led to unfair blanket judgment to the effect that all of them are corrupt.

Prof Tibaijuka, who has occupied the ministerial seat for less than a year, pointed out poor filing of lands and settlement documents as one of the weaknesses the ministry had to address. Next to it, she said was poor government levy returns from the municipalities on which she had good news. “It has been agreed that 30 per cent of levies will be retained in your municipalities instead of the current 20 per cent,” she said.


Source:http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/component/content/article/37-tanzania-top-news-story/15136-govt-issues-new-rules-to-guide-land-allocation.html