Assessment of Public Infrastructure Project Appraisal Framework in Tanzania:

Abstract

Effective project appraisal frameworks are crucial for successful infrastructure development, but countries like Tanzania face challenges such as weak processes, resource constraints, and transparency issues, highlighting the need for improvement to ensure sustainable outcomes. Tanzania's public infrastructure projects face delays and cost overruns due to inadequate appraisals and oversight, prompting initiatives like the Big Results Now (BRN) and improved frameworks to enhance planning, execution, and outcomes. Out of the total distributed questionnaires, 88 were returned and fully completed out of the expected 96, contributing to an effective representation of TARURA district management staff and project managers and 18 interviewed key infwere successfully conducted with selected key informants, including Ward Executive Officers (WEO) and Local Government Representatives in local streets and wards were these projects are being executed in all of the five districts namely: Ilala, Kigamboni, Kinondoni, Temeke and Ubungo. The study adopted descriptive and inferential data analysis approached and found that all parameters i.e. technical feasibility analysis, regulatory compliance review and risk analysis. Findings reveal that mixed performance in the effectiveness of TARURA’s project appraisal framework for public sector infrastructure in Dar es Salaam. While the framework's objectives, risk identification, and cost-benefit analysis were rated positively, with mean scores of 4.20, 4.15, and 4.25 respectively, areas such as stakeholder engagement (3.75), transparency (3.45), and risk monitoring (3.20) were less favorable, highlighting critical gaps. Engineering feasibility and resource availability were emphasized as vital components, with challenges like inadequate technical resources (3.80) and risk mitigation strategies (3.55) needing improvement. The study found that while TARURA's project appraisal framework shows strengths in risk identification, cost-benefit analysis, and engineering feasibility, it faces challenges in stakeholder engagement, transparency, resource availability, and risk monitoring. Therefore, then the study concluded that the evaluation of TARURA’s project appraisal framework in Dar es Salaam shows that technical feasibility, regulatory compliance, and risk analysis significantly enhance the success and sustainability of public infrastructure projects. The study recommends improving TARURA’s project appraisal framework