Rostam Azizi Urges Tanzania to Prioritise Domestic Investors

What changed

Rostam Azizi, chairman of Taifa Gas, has urged Tanzania to give domestic investors priority in major development projects beyond mining. Speaking in Dar es Salaam at the African Construction and Mining Excellence Awards 2026, he praised the government’s mining approach, saying reformed laws and local-content rules had helped Tanzanian companies gain from the mining value chain.

Why it matters

Azizi’s argument is straightforward: domestic companies cannot grow into major players unless they are given a real chance to take on major work. Mining, he said, shows that Tanzanian investors are capable of participating in big projects when regulation and opportunity line up.

He also pointed to mining and large infrastructure projects as the country’s most important investment openings. But this was a call for consideration, not a new policy or project award. The practical question now is whether the government extends the mining model to infrastructure and other sectors, and whether domestic firms receive enough access to turn opportunity into ownership.