Tanzania cable car plan to lift tourism in Kilimanjaro

Tanzania is banking on a cable car facility on Mount Kilimanjaro to unlock its potential to attract tourists who cannot climb Africa’s highest mountain.

The Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Mary Masanja, said the project is on track and would begin soon. 

On Tuesday, Ms Masanja told a press conference in the capital Dodoma that cable cars would mostly be used by tourists and other climbers who cannot hike to the mountain’s peak on foot. 

Mount Kilimanjaro, a leading tourist destination, is about 5,895 metres above sea level, with roughly 50,000 climbers from across the world attempting to reach the mountain’s summit annually. 

Last December, Tanzania National Parks Authority (Tanapa) assistant conservation commissioner for national parks development, Paul Banga, said the government had approved the installation of the cable car.

Mr Banga said the government gave Tanapa the green light to invest in the project.