Dodoma

Dodoma ( in Gogo), officially Dodoma City (Jiji Kuu la Dodoma, in Swahili), is the capital city of Tanzania. With a population of 765,179,

In 1967, following independence, the government invited Canadian firm Project Planning Associates Ltd to draw up a master plan to help control and organise the then capital of the country, Dar es Salaam, which was undergoing rapid urbanisation and population growth. The plan was cancelled in 1972, in part due to its failure to adequately address the historical and social problems associated with the city. The cost was estimated at £186 million and envisaged to take 10 years. The site, the Dodoma region, had been looked at as a potential new capital as early as 1915 by the then colonial power Germany, in 1932 by the British as a League of Nations mandate and again in the post-independence National Assembly in 1961 and 1966.

With an already-established town at a major crossroads, the Dodoma region had an agreeable climate, room for development and was located in the geographic centre of the nation. Its location in a rural environment was seen as the ujamaa heartland and therefore appropriate for a ujamaa capital that could see and learn from neighbouring villages and maintain a close relationship to the land.

A new capital was seen as a more economically viable alternative than attempting to reorganise and restructure Dar es Salaam and was idealised as a way of diverting development away from continued concentration in a single coastal city that was seen as anathema to the government's goal of socialist unity and development. Its basic principles follow the garden city model of a town set amongst a garden with green belts separating segregated zones for residents and industry.

As part of the move of the government, a capitol complex was envisaged and designs by international teams offered competing visions and versions of the siting and layout of a capitol complex. These competing proposals, some paid for by foreign governments as a form of aid and others by the firms involved, were presented as early as 1978.

21st century

However, it was not until 2006 that the Chinese government delivered a finished parliament building in Dodoma. The final location of the parliament was not in its original intended location in the master plan, with that location now being developed as a site for a university. Dodoma is populated by different ethnic groups because it is a government administrative centre, although the indigenous ethnic groups are the Gogo, Rangi, and Sandawe. There are also small Indian minorities.

The population count as of 2022 was recorded as 3,085,625 in Dodoma region of 41,311 km<sup>2</sup>, while Dodoma city increased from 410,956 in 2012 to 765,179 in 2022, covering 2,607 km<sup>2</sup>, or annual rate of 6.4% in ten years.

Climate

Dodoma features a semi-arid climate with warm to hot temperatures throughout the year. While average highs are somewhat consistent throughout the year, average lows dip to in July. Dodoma averages of rainfall per year, the vast majority of which occurs during its wet season between December and April. The remainder of the year comprises the city's dry season.

Education

Universities

thumb|The [[University of Dodoma]]

There are several universities in Dodoma, which include the Open University of Tanzania, which has campuses in several cities in Tanzania, St Johns University of Tanzania, owned by the Anglican Church of Tanzania, and University of Dodoma, with about 35,000 students. Both universities opened in 2007. In addition there is the Mipango Institute and the CBE.

The Anglican Church runs the only international school in Dodoma, Canon Andrea Mwaka School ("CAMS"). CAMS, established in 1950, provides education to children from Nursery to Form 4. The education is based on the English National curriculum and the school offers students the opportunity to take IGCSE examinations. An estimated 280 students are taught at the school.

Transport

Airport

thumb|A stationary aircraft at [[Dodoma Airport]]

thumb|The road to the [[University of Dodoma]]

North of the city centre, Dodoma Airport is managed by the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority. Flights are currently limited to small aircraft operated commercially by Precision Air, Air Tanzania, Auric Air, and Flightlink. However, in December 2019, plans were announced to construct the new Msalato International Airport, located approximately 14 km north of Dodoma city centre, through a US$272 million financing package supported by the African Development Bank and other development partners. The airport is being developed to provide greater runway length and weight-bearing capacity than the existing Dodoma Airport, enabling it to handle larger passenger and cargo aircraft.As of 2026, construction remained underway, with infrastructure works reported at about 85% completion and building works over 70% complete.

Railway

The city is served by Dodoma Railway Station, located near Kikuyu Avenue, through which runs the Central Railway Line, which connects Dodoma over a distance of with Dar es Salaam in the east. In 2019, Tanzania Railways commissioned a study into a Dodoma commuter rail network.

Dodoma is served by both the historic metre-gauge Central Railway Line and the modern Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). Traditional rail services operate through Dodoma Railway Station near Kikuyu Avenue, linking the city with Dar es Salaam and inland regions through the Central Line.

Dodoma is also connected to Dar es Salaam by Tanzania's electrified Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), operated by the Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC). Commercial passenger services between Dar es Salaam and Dodoma officially commenced on 1 August 2024.

The SGR line through Dodoma forms part of Tanzania's wider standard gauge railway network intended to connect Dar es Salaam with Mwanza, Kigoma, and neighboring countries including Rwanda and Burundi.

In 2019, Tanzania Railways commissioned a study into a Dodoma commuter rail network.

Public transport

A daladala station serves Dodoma on B129 south west of Dodoma.

Road link

The Cairo-Cape Town Highway passes through Dodoma. A major highway connects Dodoma with Dar es Salaam via the Morogoro in the east. To the west, there are roads to Mwanza and Kigoma going through Singida and Tabora. The Great North Road links the city with Babati

and Arusha to the north, via Kondoa and Iringa, Njombe, Songea, Mbeya and Vwawa to the south via Mtera.

Government

thumb|[[Nyerere Square]]

The Parliament of Tanzania is located in Dodoma. The office of the President of Tanzania and the headquarters of ministers of the Government of Tanzania completed the move to the Mtumba area of the city in October 2019.

Sports

The city is represented in the Tanzanian Premier League by football club Dodoma Jiji FC, which used to be called Polisi Dodoma. The club is run by the city council of Dodoma. Other older clubs, include CDA, Waziri Mkuu, Kurugenzi, Mji Mpwapwa, and Dundee.

There is also a rising interest in other sports, particularly basketball.

Stadium

The city hosts the Jamhuri Stadium on School Avenue. In addition, a new multi-purpose stadium is under construction in Dodoma as part of the government's sports infrastructure development programme.

Places of worship

File:Anglican Cathedral of Holy Spirit in Dodoma.jpg|Anglican Cathedral of Holy Spirit

File:Sunni Masjid Dodoma.jpg|Dodoma Sunni Masjid (Nunge Mosque)

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Dodoma is home to many places of worship for people of multiple faiths. From Christian churches such as the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dodoma (Catholic Church), Anglican Church of Tanzania (Anglican Communion), Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (Lutheran World Federation), Baptist Convention of Tanzania (Baptist World Alliance), and Assemblies of God to Muslim mosques including the Sunni Masjid (Nunge), Gaddafi Mosque and KSIJ Mosque. The city also hosts a Hindu Mandir, as well as a Sikh Gurudwara.

Gallery

File:Dodoma Train Station.JPG|Dodoma Railway Station

File:Dodma Airport.JPG|Dodoma Airport

File:University hostels.jpg|A hostel at the University of Dodoma

File:Roundabout in Dodoma Region.jpg|Roundabout in Dodoma

File:Nyerere Statue in Dodoma.jpg|Nyerere's statue in Dodoma

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thumb|St Paul of the Cross Cathedral in Dodoma

thumb|Chimwaga Complex Hall

Twin towns – sister cities

Dodoma is twinned with the following places:

Jaipur, India
Bangui, Central African Republic
Watsa, Democratic Republic of Congo
Linz, Austria

Notes

External links

Pictures of Dodoma and its surroundings on Flickr