Tanzania considers cable car for Mount Kilimanjaro

Tanzania plans to introduce a cable car to take people to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, in a move aimed at boosting the number of tourists who visit Africa’s tallest mountain.

The authorities are already in talks with a Chinese and a Western company.

About 50,000 tourists climb Mount Kilimanjaro every year.

Deputy tourism minister Constantine Kanyasu said a cable car could increase tourist numbers by up to 50% by enabling those who cannot climb to go to the top of the mountain.

However, porter and guide groups who take visitors up the mountain are opposed to the plan.

The head of Tanzania Porters’ Organization, Loishiye Mollel, told Reuters news agency that visitors usually spend a week climbing the mountain.

“One visitor from the US can have a maximum of 15 people behind him, of which 13 are porters, a cook and a guide. All these jobs will be affected by a cable car,” he told the news agency.

Mr Mollel said about 20,000 porters work between Mount Kilimanjaro and Meru, which is a nearby mountain.