Tanzania and China are to jointly put up a modern international conference centre in Dar es Salaam at a cost of $25 million.

The design process, which will be completed later this year to be followed by invitation of construction bids, has begun.

With a seating capacity of 1,000 people, the centre – which will be called the Julius Nyerere Convention Centre – will be the largest conference facility in Dar es Salaam.

Currently, the largest conference facility, Dar es Salaam Conference Centre, can accommodate only 300 people.

Last week, officicals from the two countries signed an agreement under which China will design and construct the facility.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Patrick Mombo, said the centre will enable Tanzania to host regional and international meetings and help the country pursue its goal of promoting conference tourism.

Mr. Mombo said that, when completed, the two floor building will have a conference hall with a capacity of 1,000 people, medium sized meeting rooms and a multifunctional meeting hall.

Currently, Arusha International Conference Centre, with a capacity up to 1,000 people, and owned by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, is the largest conference in Tanzania.

Liu Yu Lin, China’s economic and commercial representative in Tanzania, said the design of the state of the art conference centre would cost $2.2 million.

Mr. Lin said that after completing the design, a tender fro construction would be floated in China.

“We hope to finish the design an tendering process by the end of this year,” he said.

China-Tanzania joint venture co-operation started in the 1960s and has been growing rapidly in the recent years. Tanzania is China’s largest aid recipient country in Africa.

Chinese-supported projects Tanzania include the Tanzania-Zambia Railway(Tazara), the Friendship Textile Mill, the Mubarali Rice Farm and Kiwira Coal Mine.