DAR ES SALAAM, Aug. 22 — Tanzania is considering a proposed cable car project on Mount Kilimanjaro to expand tourism opportunities and enable more visitors to experience Africa’s highest mountain, an official said on Wednesday.
The proposed cable car would run from the Machame area to the Shira Plateau, according to Tanzania’s Ambassador to France and Permanent Representative to UNESCO Saidi Othman Yakubu, who visited Kilimanjaro National Park and held talks with park management.The project has been under discussion since 2019 and has been promoted as a way of expanding day tourism and making the mountain more accessible to elderly and physically disabled visitors.Yakubu said the project must comply with conservation requirements and respect Kilimanjaro’s status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.”Kilimanjaro is a major symbol of Tanzania to the world. We need to continue developing new tourism products while taking into account conservation,” he said.
Kilimanjaro National Park head Angela Nyaki said the project would broaden access to the mountain, while implementation would have to follow conservation requirements and procedures governing the protected area. Mount Kilimanjaro, with its snow-capped peak at about 5,895 meters above sea level, is one of Tanzania’s leading tourist destinations.
More than 50,000 trekkers from across the world attempt to reach the summit of the mountain annually.
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