DAR ES SALAAM, May 22 (Xinhua) — Tanzanian authorities on Monday announced measures aimed at boosting security in Lake Victoria, including the construction of a regional maritime rescue coordination center.

Makame Mbarawa, the minister for Works and Transport, told parliament that the construction of the center to be coordinated by the state-run Tanzania Shipping Agencies Corporation (TASAC) will be located on the shores of the lake at Ilemela in Mwanza region. 

“The contractor of the center has been identified and preparations to start the construction are underway,” Mbarawa told parliament in Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania, when he presented his ministry’s budget proposals for the 2023/2024 financial year.

He said plans were also underway to construct three search and rescue stations at Kanyala in the Geita region, Nansio-Ukerewe in the Mwanza region and Musoma in the Mara region, all located on the shores of the lake shared by Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Mbarawa said TASAC has floated an international tender for the construction of an ambulance boat and two search and rescue boats in Lake Victoria, one of the African Great Lakes.

And TASAC in collaboration with the Tanzania Meteorological Authority was releasing frequent weather forecast reports for the lake to ensure the security of users of the lake. Mbarawa added there were only four recorded accidents in the lake for vessels weighing below 50 tonnes, and most were caused by strong winds between July 1, 2022, and April 2023.