Truck monitoring project across Central Corridor

Transportation across the central corridor is set to be eased after the introduction of the transport observatory project (TOP) that will see all trucks electronically monitored to detect the causes of delays, reports Rwanda’s New Times. The TOP, designed by the Central Corridor Transport Facilitation Agency (CCTFA), was launched in Tanzania to streamline the route where a quarter of East Africa's total trade passes. It involves government and private transport actors. "This marks a critical new phase in upgrading a key route for East African trade by identifying and mapping all unnecessary barriers to free flowing trade to create a platform that policy makers can use to overturn these obstacles," Rukia Shamte, the executive secretary of CCTFA, said at the launch. The development comes at a time when the region's economy is surging and the need for smooth trade becoming more important. The central corridor connects the east African hinterland to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam. A similar initiative was last year established on the northern corridor that connects Mombasa port. According to the beneficiaries, the project has tremendously improved transportation of goods.