To resurrect General Tyre East Africa, Tanzania is looking for investment

The Tanzanian government is looking for investors to bring back the tire manufacturing facility in Arusha so that it can serve the local and regional markets.

One million automotive tires are intended to be produced annually by the 55-year-old General Tyre East Africa (GTEA). New investors would lease the factory for 33 years with a renewal agreement, according to a report released in June by the Ministry of Industry and Trade through the National Development Corporation (NDC).

In February 1969, the Tanzanian government and General Tyre of the United States of America partnered to construct GTEA, which has the potential to produce 320,000 tires annually through installation. The plant closed its doors in 2007 as a result of the market being overtaken by low-cost imports, primarily from China, that had begun production in 1971.

To meet local demand, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has suggested installing tyre manufacturing equipment with a one million tire annual production capacity as part of its new plan. It is anticipated that the plant will manufacture the entire line of tires for automobiles, buses, light- and heavy-duty trucks.

The ministry stated that the resuscitation of the plant would reduce the importation of tires from China, Japan, India, and Dubai. Owners of vehicles have voiced complaints about the poor quality of imported tires, claiming that they are not resilient on Tanzania’s main highways or in hot weather.

Owners of trucks and passenger buses in Tanzania have expressed alarm over the imported tires, claiming they are unsuitable for trunk highways, particularly those that link Tanzania with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Rwanda.