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| Item | Unit | USD | TSh | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial verification, per circuit (IEC 60364-6)Continuity of the protective conductor, insulation resistance, earth loop impedance and RCD trip time, measured circuit by circuit and written up. IEC 60364-6 requires this before an installation is energised, and no schedule in these markets prices it, because it is usually not done. Estimated from an electrician’s day rate against the number of circuits one person tests in a day. The bill bought the board and the earth electrode and verified neither, which is the same shape as a missing line anywhere else in this product: it looks exactly like a test that costs nothing. | per circuit | $4 – $12 | 10,479 TSh – 31,437 TSh | Estimated |
| Isolation valve, per fixtureA quarter-turn brass ball valve and its connection, one at each fixture and one on the incoming main. Estimated from merchant prices for 15 and 20 mm valves; no published schedule separates them from the fixture. Without them an installation has no way to isolate a branch, so changing a tap means shutting the whole house off: and in practice means the tap is not changed. | per valve | $6 – $18 | 15,718 TSh – 47,155 TSh | Estimated |
| Wall copingA weathered cap over the top of a wall, cast in place or precast, throwing water clear of both faces. Estimated from the concrete, the formwork and the mason’s time for a 300 mm cap rather than from a published rate, because coping is normally swallowed inside a per-metre wall price. An uncapped wall takes rain straight into its top course, and the first failure of a boundary wall here is almost always the top three courses rather than the foundation. | per metre | $6 – $16 | 15,718 TSh – 41,916 TSh | Estimated |
| Damp-proof courseBitumen felt or polythene laid in the bed joint above ground level, breaking the path water takes up through the masonry. Estimated from roll prices at the width a 150 to 200 mm wall needs. Rising damp is what makes the bottom of a rendered wall blister and shed within two or three wet seasons, and the cure after the fact is to take the render off and start again. | per metre | $1 – $4 | 3,144 TSh – 9,169 TSh | Estimated |
| Gate lock and drop boltA lock and a drop bolt into the threshold, which is what secures a gate rather than what hangs it. **Deliberately not hinges or paint** : the gate leaf here is priced through the boundary’s own material with a fabrication factor whose written basis already names the frame, the hinges and the paint, so buying them again would charge the same money twice. That is the mistake `knownCosts` exists to avoid, and it is easier to make when adding a line than when removing one. Estimated from merchant prices for a padlockable gate lock and a galvanised drop bolt. | per set | $60 – $200 | 157,183 TSh – 523,945 TSh | Estimated |
| Formwork, per m² of contact areaSheet, bearers, nails, props and release oil, measured the way a bordereau measures it, per square metre of concrete face formed, with the sheet amortised over about four uses. **Nothing in this product priced formwork at all**, and no concrete rate here claims to include it, so every reinforced element was quietly assumed to cast itself. It is not a small line: on a boundary wall with posts and two tie beams the formed area is roughly twice the wall’s own footprint. Estimated from plywood and melamine sheet prices in this market against a four-use life; a merchant quotation would replace the sheet share directly. | per m² formed | $4 – $11 | 10,479 TSh – 28,817 TSh | Estimated |
| Binding wire (for tying reinforcement)Annealed wire for tying bars and links into a cage. Ordered at 12 kg per tonne of reinforcement, which is the middle of the 10 to 15 kg range trades work to. Estimated from merchant prices for annealed wire by the coil. It is a trivial cost and a total stopper: a cage cannot be tied without it, and it was missing from every bill this product has ever produced. | per kg | $2 – $4 | 3,930 TSh – 9,169 TSh | Estimated |
| Weep hole (75 mm PVC sleeve through the wall)A short PVC sleeve cast or built through the wall just above ground on the exposed face, with the mason’s time to place it. Estimated from offcut pipe prices and a few minutes’ work each; no schedule prices a weep hole, because it is the first thing left out. Leaving them out is not a saving of this size : an undrained wall carries roughly **1.75 times** the push of a drained one, because saturated backfill adds full hydrostatic pressure that no friction angle reduces. | per weep hole | $2 – $7 | 5,239 TSh – 18,338 TSh | Estimated |
| Filter fabric (behind the wall)A non-woven geotextile wrapping the granular drainage blanket so the fines in the retained soil do not migrate into it. Estimated from roll prices for a light non-woven grade. Without it the drain silts up and becomes more soil within a season or two, which is worse than never building it: the wall is then loaded as an undrained wall by a detail everybody believes is working. | per m² | $1 – $4 | 3,144 TSh – 9,169 TSh | Estimated |
| Concrete curing (sheeting and water, 7 days)Polythene sheeting at 200 microns used twice over, the water to keep the surface wet for seven days, and the labour of wetting it. An outright estimate: no schedule in these markets prices curing separately, because it is almost always buried in a concrete rate and therefore almost always skipped on site. It is priced here for the opposite reason, in this climate a slab above about 32 °C loses water faster than bleed replaces it, and concrete that dries before it hydrates never reaches its grade whatever the mix design said. A well-batched concrete badly cured is weaker than a badly batched one cured properly, so this is the cheapest line in the bill measured against what it protects. | per m² of surface | $1 – $2 | 1,572 TSh – 4,192 TSh | Estimated |
| Movement joint (backer rod and sealant)Compressible filler and a gun-applied sealant, per metre of joint height. Nothing in these packs is comparable enough to scale from, a joint is a backer rod and a cartridge, not a coating sold by the square metre, so this is an outright estimate from what a hardware merchant charges for polyurethane sealant and closed-cell filler at the coverage a 15 mm joint uses. It is a small line against the wall it protects: a 140 m run needs about 55 m of joint, and leaving it out is why a new boundary wall cracks in its first dry season. | per metre | $3 – $8 | 7,859 TSh – 20,958 TSh | Estimated |
| Consumer unit, per way (three phase)A three-phase way: the same protective device on a busbar fed from three lines rather than one, so the board, the main switch and the incoming device all cost more for the same number of circuits. Priced from this market’s own single-phase way at the premium wholesalers quote for the three-phase range. No regional survey separates them. | per way | $15 – $51 | 39,296 TSh – 133,606 TSh | Estimated |
| Supply cable (3 × 10 mm²)Single-phase supply, three cores: line, neutral and earth against the four of a three-phase run. Priced from this market’s own four-core cable at the ratio of the copper in it, which is what a merchant charges for cable, the drum is sold by weight of conductor. No regional survey separates the two sizes. This is what an ordinary house here is connected with; three-phase is for a workshop, a borehole pump of any size, or a house large enough to need the load balanced. | per metre | $3 – $9 | 7,597 TSh – 22,530 TSh | Estimated |
| Copper supply pipe (ø 22)Copper, soldered. Rare here and dear: it is imported, it needs a plumber with a torch, and the offcuts walk off a site. It is specified where hot water runs through a roof void or where a client wants a system that outlives the building. Priced at the multiple of PPR that importers quote for tube of the same bore; no regional survey covers it, and in most of these markets a merchant will order it in rather than stock it. | per metre | $6 – $21 | 14,670 TSh – 54,228 TSh | Estimated |
| Pressure PVC supply pipe (ø 25)Pressure PVC, the cheaper supply pipe and the one most self-builds here use for cold runs. It is solvent-welded rather than fusion-welded, so it needs no heating iron and any mason can lay it : which is why it is common : and it must not carry hot water or run in sunlight, where it goes brittle. Priced from this market’s own PPR at the discount merchants quote; no regional survey separates supply pipe by material. | per metre | $1 – $3 | 2,620 TSh – 8,907 TSh | Estimated |
| Stair nosing (aluminium or PVC)A pre-formed aluminium or PVC stair nosing, sold by the metre and fixed to the front edge of each tread. It takes the wear and stops the arris of a cast step breaking away, which is what makes an unnosed concrete stair look derelict in two years. No regional survey prices it; the band is scaled from this market’s own skirting, which is the same kind of extruded trim bought the same way. | per metre | $3 – $12 | 8,383 TSh – 31,437 TSh | Estimated |
| Exterior paint (20 L drum)Exterior acrylic, sold in the same 20 L drum as the interior grade. It carries more binder and a UV package because this face takes full sun and driven rain through a wet season, and an interior paint put outside chalks within a year. Priced from this market’s own interior paint at the premium merchants quote for the exterior grade, since no regional survey separates the two : the Kinshasa paint survey does not even state its container size, which is why the interior figure is itself an estimate. | per drum | $31 – $84 | 81,211 TSh – 220,057 TSh | Estimated |
| Primer or sealer (20 L drum)New render is alkaline and thirsty: without a sealer the first top coat is drunk into the wall, the colour goes patchy and the covering rate collapses, so the paint saved is spent twice over. Priced from this market’s own paint at the discount a primer usually carries, since no regional survey separates the two. A repaint over sound existing paint needs none, and the element lets it be unticked. | per drum | $20 – $50 | 52,394 TSh – 130,986 TSh | Estimated |
| Door ironmongery (lock, handle, 3 hinges)A lock case, a handle set and three hinges. Doors here are sold as a leaf and a frame and nothing else, `door_timber` is a timber door with frame, so a house with twelve doors needs twelve sets and the bill had none of them. No regional survey prices ironmongery; the band is scaled from this market’s own timber door, at the fifth of the door price merchants quote for a plain mortice set. A cylinder lock on an external door costs more and a padlock hasp costs less: this is the ordinary internal set, and somebody fitting security ironmongery overrides the line. | per set | $8 – $28 | 20,958 TSh – 73,352 TSh | Estimated |
| Electrical point, surface mountedSurface-mounted point: PVC trunking and clips on the face of the wall, no chase cut and no making good. Priced from this market’s own chased point rate less 20 per cent, the chasing and the render patch are what the two installations differ by, and on blockwork that is about a fifth of the point. No published survey separates the two: CYPE and the regional schedules price a chased point, because that is what a specification asks for. It is the cheaper build and the common one in a rented shop, a workshop, or any wall somebody expects to open again. | per point | $5 – $9 | 13,099 TSh – 23,578 TSh | Estimated |
| Ridge capping (pre-folded)A pre-folded ridge cap, sold in 2 m lengths at roughly the price of one sheet, which is the ratio merchants across the region quote. No published survey covers it, regional price surveys track cement, steel and sheeting, never the accessories, so the band is scaled from this market’s own sheet price and moves with it. It is a real line rather than flat sheet: a cap is folded to the ridge angle and costs more per square metre than the sheet it closes. | per metre | $5 – $10 | 13,099 TSh – 26,197 TSh | Estimated |
| Roofing fixings (box of 100)Self-drilling screws with EPDM washers, sold by the box of 100 at any hardware merchant. No published survey covers this item: regional price surveys track cement, steel and sheeting, never fasteners. The band starts from a retail price of 0.12 to 0.25 USD a screw observed across the region, and scales with this market’s own sheet price. At 7 screws/m² it is 1 to 2 per cent of the sheet cost, an error here does not move a roof budget, while omitting it drops a real item: a 300 m² roof needs about 2,100 of them. | per box of 100 | $8 – $20 | 20,958 TSh – 52,394 TSh | Estimated |
| Grey cement (50 kg bag) | per bag | $6 – $7 | 14,854 TSh – 17,971 TSh | Sourced |
| Scaffolding, erect and hireDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (1.4 to 4.0 a day) at an output of 2.5 to 6 m² of face erected, moved and struck per worker-day; hiring the equipment weighs less than the labour. Measured on the face worked above 2 m: below that you work off the ground or off trestles and nothing is hired. **Nothing in this product bought any**, when a 2.40 m wall rendered on both faces is not built from the ground. | per m² of elevation | $0 – $2 | 603 TSh – 4,192 TSh | Derived |
| Slab proppingDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (1.4 to 4.0 a day), plus the hire of the props. A suspended slab is held by its props for three weeks before it carries its own weight: the formwork gives it its shape, the propping stops it coming down. Formwork has been priced since 2026-08-21 and what holds it up still was not. | per m² of soffit | $0 – $2 | 917 TSh – 5,816 TSh | Derived |
| Setting outDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (1.4 to 4.0 a day) at an output of 5 to 12 m of perimeter set out per worker-day: profiles, lines, level and the day of the gang that marks it. It is the first spend on any site and no element carried it. Setting out wrongly is not corrected, it is demolished. | per metre of perimeter | $0 – $1 | 314 TSh – 2,096 TSh | Derived |
| Mixing water, deliveredA cubic metre of concrete takes about 180 litres of mixing water, and on most sites here it arrives by tanker or in drums rather than through a connection. Estimated at the price of a tanker load spread over the volume of concrete, not at the metered price of water. Distinct from curing, already priced separately: this one goes into the mix, that one protects it after the pour. | per m³ of concrete or mortar | $0 – $1 | 445 TSh – 3,484 TSh | Estimated |
| Hand excavation, ordinary groundDerived from this pack’s labourer wage (1.4 to 4.0 a day) at the usual output for hand digging in ordinary ground, 1.5 to 2.5 m³ per worker-day: 4.0 ÷ 1.5 at the top of the band, 1.4 ÷ 2.5 at the bottom. A fixed price in dollars would mean nothing here, earthworks are almost entirely labour, and the labourer’s wage varies sixfold across the markets in the catalogue. Hard, rocky or waterlogged ground is outside this band and is handled case by case. | per m³ | $1 – $3 | 1,467 TSh – 6,995 TSh | Derived |
| Washed crushed sand (0/5)This market has no separate survey for crushed sand. Derived from this pack’s natural sand (11.0 to 24.0) at the ratio of 1.5 surveyed in Kolwezi on 2026-08-21, where Dilala natural sand is delivered at 20 USD/m³ and Katonto crushed sand at 30 USD/m³. It is the ratio that is carried over and not the price: crushing and washing cost much the same anywhere, whereas the price of natural sand depends mostly on the distance to the river. | per m³ | $17 – $36 | 43,225 TSh – 94,310 TSh | Derived |
| SandNo published survey converted. Sand does not travel: it is the least transferable line in the pack and the first to survey town by town. Sold by the truck and not by the m³, which is the usual sticking point. | per m³ | $11 – $24 | 28,817 TSh – 62,873 TSh | Estimated |
| Crushed stoneNo published survey converted. Quarry crush, with transport dominating the delivered price. In Zanzibar the sea crossing has to be added, which the city multiplier already carries. | per m³ | $17 – $34 | 44,535 TSh – 89,071 TSh | Estimated |
| Rubble stone (coral rag on Zanzibar)On the mainland, uncalibrated quarry stone. In Zanzibar, coral rag is the historic material of Stone Town and is still quarried locally: it is the only structural material on the island that does not cross the sea, and its extraction is now regulated. | per m³ | $12 – $26 | 31,437 TSh – 68,113 TSh | Estimated |
| Reinforcement barNo Tanzanian steel merchant’s rate converted. Tanzania re-rolls locally and imports the balance through Dar. A line to re-check more often than the others, the steel price moving fast. | per tonne | $590 – $990 | 1,545,638 TSh – 2,593,528 TSh | Estimated |
| Steel section (IPE, HEA)Sections imported through Dar es Salaam. Limited structural steel capacity outside the commercial capital, so fabrication weighs heavily: see steelFabricationFactor. | per tonne | $760 – $1,250 | 1,990,991 TSh – 3,274,656 TSh | Estimated |
| Concrete block, 6 inch (150 mm)Derived from the sourced cement price: a 6 inch block takes about 0.02 of a bag, plus sand, moulding and the maker’s margin. Blocks are moulded in the district where the building goes up and do not travel, except in Zanzibar, where the cement that makes them has crossed the sea, which the city multiplier carries. | each | $0 – $1 | 1,100 TSh – 1,965 TSh | Derived |
| Concrete block, 4 inch (100 mm)The same derivation as the 6 inch block, in proportion to the volume of material used. | each | $0 – $1 | 734 TSh – 1,310 TSh | Derived |
| Concrete block, 6 inch (150 mm)Derived from the sourced cement price, as above: material, moulding and the maker’s margin. | each | $0 – $1 | 1,100 TSh – 1,965 TSh | Derived |
| Concrete block, 8 inch (200 mm)Same derivation, in proportion to the volume of material used. | each | $1 – $1 | 1,441 TSh – 2,489 TSh | Derived |
| Half block 15 × 20 × 20A half block, moulded in the same shortened mould and sold from the same yard. The price is derived from the full block of the same thickness at 60%: the material halves, but moulding, handling and curing cost the same per piece, so a half block never sells at half price. No direct survey confirms it yet; this is a reasoned order of magnitude, not an observed price. | each | $0 – $0 | 660 TSh – 1,179 TSh | Derived |
| Half block 20 × 20 × 20A half block, moulded in the same shortened mould and sold from the same yard. The price is derived from the full block of the same thickness at 60%: the material halves, but moulding, handling and curing cost the same per piece, so a half block never sells at half price. No direct survey confirms it yet; this is a reasoned order of magnitude, not an observed price. | each | $0 – $1 | 865 TSh – 1,493 TSh | Derived |
| Hollow block, 10 inch (250 mm)Same derivation, in proportion to the volume of material used. | each | $1 – $1 | 1,729 TSh – 3,013 TSh | Derived |
| Solid block, 6 inch (150 mm)The same derivation as the 6 inch hollow block, with solid material in place of the voids. | each | $1 – $1 | 1,781 TSh – 3,013 TSh | Derived |
| Stabilised compressed earth blockManual press, site soil, 5 to 8% cement. The price is mostly labour and cement: it follows the minimum wage and the bag. | each | $0 – $0 | 393 TSh – 1,048 TSh | Estimated |
| Fired brickOne name for two products: artisanal bush-kiln brick and factory brick. The band covers both, which makes it unusable as it stands. Artisanal brick is very widespread on the Tanzanian mainland, more so than in the neighbouring markets. | each | $0 – $0 | 131 TSh – 1,048 TSh | Estimated |
| Mud brickMoulded on site and sun dried. It does not travel and is hardly sold: the price is labourer’s time at the minimum wage, which here is the lowest in this product. | each | $0 – $0 | 52 TSh – 210 TSh | Estimated |
| Structural timberAn active sawmilling trade (miombo, plantation pine from the Southern Highlands). Cheaper than neighbouring Kenya, which is coming out of a forest moratorium. Treatment against termites is not in this price and is not optional. | per m³ | $140 – $300 | 366,761 TSh – 785,917 TSh | Estimated |
| Profiled galvanised sheetSheet rolled locally from imported coil. State the thickness: between 0.20 and 0.45 mm the price doubles and so does the life. | per sheet | $10 – $20 | 26,197 TSh – 52,394 TSh | Estimated |
| Fibre-cement corrugated sheetFibre-cement sheet, dimensions to be confirmed with the seller: with no length and no width, a price per sheet never becomes a price per m². | per sheet | $8 – $15 | 20,958 TSh – 39,296 TSh | Estimated |
| Roof tileConcrete or stone-coated metal tile, largely imported from neighbouring Kenya, which makes it. Confined to the top of the market. | each | $1 – $2 | 1,834 TSh – 4,716 TSh | Estimated |
| Floor tilingTile imported, mostly from China and India, through Dar es Salaam. The band is wide because it covers everything from the cheapest to porcelain. | per m² | $6 – $24 | 15,718 TSh – 62,873 TSh | Estimated |
| Tile adhesive (20 kg bag)Imported or locally formulated adhesive. Confirm the bag weight: the packaging varies from 20 to 40 kg according to the supplier. | per bag | $4 – $10 | 10,479 TSh – 26,197 TSh | Estimated |
| Tile groutImported product, sold in bags of 1 to 5 kg. Confirm the packaging before turning it into a price per kg. | per kg | $1 – $3 | 3,144 TSh – 7,859 TSh | Estimated |
| Emulsion paint (20 L tin)Local makers and imports. Confirm the drum volume: paint is sold by the bucket without the volume being stated, and a price with no unit never becomes a rate. | per tin | $24 – $62 | 62,873 TSh – 162,423 TSh | Estimated |
| Polythene damp-proof membraneSheet by the roll. EN 13967 is a product standard: it binds the supplier, not the site. | per m² | $0 – $1 | 1,179 TSh – 2,882 TSh | Estimated |
| Damp-proof course rollBituminous roll, EN 14967. Essential on the coast, where the water table is high and saline. | per linear metre | $1 – $2 | 2,096 TSh – 5,239 TSh | Estimated |
| SBS bitumen membrane 4 mmImported membrane, EN 13707. Torch-applied, labour not included in this price. | per m² | $7 – $15 | 18,338 TSh – 39,296 TSh | Estimated |
| Liquid waterproofing (per coat)Imported or locally formulated resin. Two coats at least, which the measurement counts separately. | per m² per coat | $2 – $5 | 4,716 TSh – 11,789 TSh | Estimated |
| Cementitious tanking slurry, per kgImported water-resistant mortar, EN 14891, for wet rooms and light tanking. | per kg | $2 – $4 | 4,454 TSh – 10,217 TSh | Estimated |
| PVC ceiling panellingSold by the board or the pack and never by the m²: confirm the board dimensions and how many are in a pack. | per m² | $5 – $11 | 11,789 TSh – 28,817 TSh | Estimated |
| PlasterboardImported board, grid included. A plywood ceiling remains very common in low-cost building and costs less. | per m² | $6 – $15 | 14,408 TSh – 39,296 TSh | Estimated |
| SkirtingSkirting in tile, timber or PVC. Always laid and almost never measured, which is exactly why it has a line here. | per metre | $2 – $6 | 4,716 TSh – 15,718 TSh | Estimated |
| Metal door with frameDoor from a local workshop, folded sheet on a welded frame. State whether the price covers the frame, the lock and the fitting: three answers circulate and the spread between them is wider than the spread between workshops. | per door | $55 – $160 | 144,085 TSh – 419,156 TSh | Estimated |
| Timber door with frameHollow-core or solid timber: two products, two prices, and the same name at the joiner’s. Solid timber is within reach here, the timber trade being active. | per door | $32 – $130 | 83,831 TSh – 327,466 TSh | Estimated |
| Glazed aluminium windowLocal workshop joinery from imported sections, glazing and fitting included. Aluminium stands up to the salt air, which counts along the whole coast and in Zanzibar. | per m² | $60 – $150 | 157,183 TSh – 392,959 TSh | Estimated |
| Louvre windowThe ordinary window of the coast: it ventilates continuously, which counts when air conditioning is paid at the TANESCO tariff. | per m² | $22 – $55 | 57,634 TSh – 144,085 TSh | Estimated |
| Burglar barIronwork from a local workshop, per m² of opening protected. | per m² | $18 – $50 | 47,155 TSh – 130,986 TSh | Estimated |
| Stair balustradeIronwork or timber. EN 1991-1-1 §6.4 gives it a horizontal load: it is a structural element and not a finish, which is the reason this line exists. | per metre | $28 – $110 | 73,352 TSh – 288,170 TSh | Estimated |
| GutterFolded sheet or PVC. Sized to EN 12056-3: the Tanzanian coast has two rainy seasons and Zanzibar exceeds 1,600 mm a year, against markedly less at Mwanza. | per metre | $5 – $13 | 11,789 TSh – 34,056 TSh | Estimated |
| Rainwater downpipeø 100 PVC, clips and bends included. Often run into a harvesting tank, a very widespread practice in Zanzibar where fresh water is scarce. | per metre | $3 – $10 | 7,859 TSh – 26,197 TSh | Estimated |
| Supply pipeworkPPR or pressure PVC, fittings included and fitting excluded: the data layer counts fitting with the other trades. | per metre | $2 – $5 | 4,192 TSh – 12,051 TSh | Estimated |
| Waste pipework (PVC ø 110)ø 110 PVC, fittings included. The metres of waste pipe are what a per-point price leaves out, since it pays only for the fixtures. | per metre | $3 – $8 | 6,811 TSh – 20,958 TSh | Estimated |
| Plumbing point (WC + basin)Fitted point, fixtures included. State whether the labour is inside it: the data layer counts labour separately, and an all-in price entered as it stands would pay the plumber twice. | per point | $110 – $190 | 288,170 TSh – 497,748 TSh | Estimated |
| Sanitary wareImported suite, from the cheapest Chinese to European sanitaryware. | per set | $80 – $300 | 209,578 TSh – 785,917 TSh | Estimated |
| Electrical pointFitted point, wiring included. The same caution as the plumbing about labour, which is counted elsewhere in the data layer. | per point | $6 – $11 | 15,718 TSh – 28,817 TSh | Estimated |
| Distribution board, per wayIEC 60364-4-41 requires automatic disconnection of supply, so it requires the protective devices. State whether the 30 mA residual current device is inside the price of the way. | per way | $10 – $30 | 26,197 TSh – 78,592 TSh | Estimated |
| Earth electrodeIEC 60364-5-54. It is the line most often absent from a house, and without it the residual current device has nothing to measure a fault against. | per installation | $38 – $130 | 99,550 TSh – 327,466 TSh | Estimated |
| Supply cable (4 × 10 mm²)Follows the copper price, so it is to be re-checked more often than the rest of the pack. State whether it is armoured. | per metre | $4 – $12 | 11,003 TSh – 30,127 TSh | Estimated |
| Storage tank, per litrePolyethylene tank made in East Africa, 1,000 to 10,000 L. In Zanzibar rainwater harvesting is a long-standing practice: fresh water is the constrained resource there. | per litre | $0 – $0 | 144 TSh – 498 TSh | Estimated |
| Submersible pumpImported pump. The rating follows the designWater calculation: head, drawdown and tower included, not the catalogue. | each | $120 – $500 | 314,367 TSh – 1,309,862 TSh | Estimated |
| Tank tower, per metre of heightSteel tower from a local workshop. The height is what makes the pressure at the tap, which is the only reason to pay for it. | per metre | $75 – $270 | 196,479 TSh – 707,326 TSh | Estimated |
| Electric water heater, per litreImported storage heater, 50 to 200 L, sold by the cylinder and not by the litre: the price per litre is our conversion, to be confirmed capacity by capacity. | per litre of capacity | $1 – $3 | 2,882 TSh – 7,597 TSh | Estimated |
| Solar water heater, per litreImported thermosiphon. A good yield on the coast and in Zanzibar, less so during the long rains. | per litre of capacity | $3 – $8 | 6,549 TSh – 19,648 TSh | Estimated |
| Instantaneous gas water heaterImported appliance, sold by flow rate in L/min. Tanzania produces its own natural gas but domestic distribution is still the LPG bottle. | each | $80 – $260 | 209,578 TSh – 681,128 TSh | Estimated |
| Generator, per kVAFrom a Chinese set to a European one, imported through Dar. The Julius Nyerere dam has improved generation since 2024, but distribution remains the weak link and standby remains the rule on a site. | per kVA | $180 – $1,200 | 471,550 TSh – 3,143,670 TSh | Estimated |
| Solar PV, per WpPanel, inverter and fitting. A real off-grid trade, less mature than neighbouring Kenya’s but supplied by the same regional importers. | per Wp | $1 – $1 | 1,886 TSh – 3,537 TSh | Estimated |
| Battery, per nominal kWhFrom flooded lead to lithium. Coastal heat shortens the life of lead: lithium pays back better than it looks. | per kWh | $150 – $370 | 379,860 TSh – 969,298 TSh | Estimated |
| Hand-drilled borehole, per metre (to 40 m)No Tanzanian driller’s rate obtained. The water table is high on the coastal plain but often brackish, and in Zanzibar the aquifer is a fragile freshwater lens that over-abstraction turns saline. An estimate, not a survey. | per metre | $50 – $120 | 130,986 TSh – 301,268 TSh | Estimated |
| Rig-drilled borehole, per metre (beyond 40 m)The same caution as the hand-drilling line. The hand-to-machine ratio is taken from the UNICEF/pS-Eau guide for want of a Tanzanian equivalent: it is the ratio that is borrowed, not the price. | per metre | $120 – $290 | 314,367 TSh – 759,720 TSh | Estimated |
| Labourer | per day | $1 – $4 | 3,668 TSh – 10,479 TSh | Sourced |
| MasonSeveral times the legal floor, which is the lowest in this product: the gap between the minimum and what a skilled worker actually charges is therefore very wide here, and it is the market rate that counts. | per day | $6 – $12 | 15,718 TSh – 31,437 TSh | Estimated |
| Carpenter / formworkerThe same grade as the mason in local practice: formwork is paid at the skilled structural rate. | per day | $6 – $12 | 15,718 TSh – 31,437 TSh | Estimated |
| SteelfixerThe same grade as the mason: steelfixing is paid at the same day rate on Tanzanian sites. | per day | $6 – $12 | 15,718 TSh – 31,437 TSh | Estimated |
| ElectricianAbove the mason: a skilled trade, personal tools, and work that is expensive to put right when it is done badly. | per day | $8 – $15 | 19,648 TSh – 39,296 TSh | Estimated |
| PlumberThe same grade as the electrician: a skilled trade, and an expensive one to put right when a leak appears in finished work. | per day | $8 – $15 | 19,648 TSh – 39,296 TSh | Estimated |
| PainterBetween the labourer and the mason: the movement is learned quickly but the finish shows, so the rate sits above the labourer. | per day | $5 – $9 | 11,789 TSh – 23,578 TSh | Estimated |
| TilerThe same grade as the mason: the difficulty is in the setting out and the flatness, not in the strength. | per day | $6 – $12 | 15,718 TSh – 31,437 TSh | Estimated |
| Site foremanSupervision, about twice a mason. It is the item the productivity factor moves most: without one, labour costs 35% more in days. | per day | $11 – $22 | 28,817 TSh – 57,634 TSh | Estimated |
A foreign invoice gets compared against a delivered local price while carrying none of the charges that get it to the same place. Enter your supplier’s CIF quotation: duty, the agency levies and VAT are added in the order the administration applies them.
With no quotation entered, the local price stands in as a worked example.
| CIF value (before the border) | $790 |
| Customs duty (10%) | + $79 |
| Maritime freight levy | + $46 |
| Import quality inspection | + $16 |
| Industrial Promotion Fund | + $16 |
| Clearing agent and file charges | + $24 |
| VAT (16%) | + $140 |
| Landed cost, charges included | $1,100 |
Once cleared, importing costs more than the local market.
Landed cost, charges included: $1,100 · Local market: $790
Total charges on the CIF value: 40% · Industrial inputs
Assigning a material to a duty band is an interpretation: the rate follows the HS code your agent declares, and agents differ. The rates and the VAT are sourced; the split between agencies is our apportionment of a sourced total.
Some prices above are estimates because no published survey exists. Pick up to eight and Claude will search the web for recent figures and show you its sources. Nothing is changed automatically, and a result with no source is shown as not found rather than as a number.