Tanzania is the second largest economy in East Africa, with a population of over 5 million people and economic growth of 6.8% on GDP in 2017 according to trading economics.

Like many African countries, Tanzania is massively unbuilt. But what does it take to construct buildings in the country’s capital, Dar-es-Salaam? According to the International Construction Market Report, below are the numbers:

In Tanzania, just like in Kenya, airports are still the most expensive form of building construction to undertake where a full-service domestic terminal costs $2721 per sqm while a basic service low-cost carrier terminal costs developers $1944 per sqm. However, the car parking business is one of the least costly to venture into (in terms of building).

A multi-story car park above the ground would cost a $389 per sqm while a multi-storey car pack below ground would cost $426 per sqm. Commercial offices in a business park cost $868 per sqm to build while putting up medium grade A offices of up to 20 floors in Dar-es-Salaam’s CBD would require a financial flex of $786 per sqm. However, high-rise, prime office space in the CBD cost $1096 per sqm.

Generally building commercial offices in Dar-es-Salaam is more costly than doing it in Nairobi. Read; Kenya Construction Costs In education, the cost for building primary and secondary school structures is $467 per sqm and universities and colleges cost $519 per sqm to build which is slightly higher than in Kenya.

For hospitals, a day centre (including basic surgeries) costs $854 per sqm, a regional hospital costs $1005 and a general hospital cost $1407 per sqm to build.

Putting up a hotel requires some dry powder in Dar-es-Salaam. The bargain would be a 3-star travellers hotel which costs $1005 per sqm while a 5-star luxury hotel cost $1256 per sqm, and is more expensive than a resort-style hotel which would cost $1231 per sqm.

The costs for building industrial property in Dar-es-Salaam are relative. On the lower end, basic warehouse/factory units cost $363 and a large warehouse distribution centre would cost $509 per sqm. On the higher end, a high-tech factory/ laboratory would cost $1038 per sqm. As for residential property, individual detached or terrace style houses of medium standard cost the lowest just like in Kenya. They cost $412 per sqm followed by aged care/affordable units which cost $467 per sqm.

On the higher side, a prime individual detached house costs $779 per sqm to construct. Townhouses and apartments of medium standard cost $550 and $571 per sqm respectively to construct. High-rise apartments cost $617 per sqm to build. On average it cost almost the same to do residential buildings in Kenya and Tanzania.

In retail, building a neighbourhood supermarket would cost $571 and large shopping centre including a mall costs $725 per sqm. A prestigious car showroom would require $846 per sqm to build. Structural steel beams still account for the highest material costs at $1765 per tonne for a job of more than 100 tonnes.

Labour costs are lower in comparison to those in Nairobi, Kenya. General labourers earn $2 per day while site foremen still earn the highest amount, $5 per day. In general, construction in Kenya is cheaper than in Tanzania on many counts according to the report.