Mtwara is the capital city of Mtwara Region

Mtwara Region

Mtwara is a southern region of Tanzania which has been underdeveloped for a long time: development is constrained by the lack of highway and energy infrastructures. The Dar es Salaam-Kibiti-Lindi-Mtwara road has been improved by the completion of the Mkapa bridge over the Rufiji River...

 in southeastern Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

. In the 1940s, it was planned and constructed as the export facility for the disastrous Tanganyika groundnut scheme

Tanganyika groundnut scheme

The Tanganyika Groundnut Scheme was a plan to cultivate tracts of what is now Tanzania with peanuts. It was a project of the British Labour government of Clement Attlee. It was abandoned in 1951 at considerable cost to the taxpayers when it did not become profitable...

, but was deserted when the scheme was abandoned in 1951. As a result, the city is spread out over a large area planned to accommodate up to 200,000 people. The present population is around 80,000. As part of the development associated with the failed Tanganyika groundnut scheme, Mtwara features a deep-water port that can accommodate ocean-going vessels, and a range of large municipal buildings, including a post office.

Transportation

Mtwara has reasonable transport links considering its remoteness in southern Tanzania. It is linked by paved roads with Lindi to the north and by partially paved roads to Masasi

Masasi

Masasi is one of the 5 districts of the Mtwara Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the North by the Lindi Region, to the East by the Newala District, to the South by Mozambique and to the West by the Ruvuma Region....

 and Newala

Newala

Newala is one of the five districts of the Mtwara Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the west by the Masasi District, to the east by the Tandahimba District, to the south by Mozambique, and to the north by the Tandahimba and Masasi Districts....

 in-land to the west, where the newly completed Unity Bridge provides a crossing point to Mozambique

Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

. The A19

A19 road (Tanzania)

The A19 is an important road of southern Tanzania. It connects Mbamba Bay on Lake Malawi in the west with Mtwara on the Indian Ocean coast.Enroute it passes through some major towns including Songea. Its western point is located near and its eastern point is located near . At Masasi the B5 road...

 links it with Mbamba Bay

Mbamba Bay

Mbamba Bay is a town in western Tanzania, lying on the eastern shore of Lake Malawi. Elevation 471m.- Port :Mbamba Bay has an indentation in the otherwise straight profile of the lake and may be a potential port.- Transport :...

 on Lake Malawi

Lake Malawi

Lake Malawi , is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the Great Rift Valley system of East Africa. This lake, the third largest in Africa and the eighth largest lake in the world, is located between Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania...

 in the west. It features an airport with a paved runway that can accommodate small passenger jets. Precision Air run daily flights between Mtwara and Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...

. The flight time is around an hour. Building work is almost complete to provide Mtwara with a continuous paved road link with Dar es Salaam via Lindi and Kilwa, utilizing a new permanent road bridge across the Rufiji River

Rufiji River

The Rufiji River lies entirely within the African nation of Tanzania. The river is formed by the convergence of the Kilombero and Luwegu rivers. It is approximately 600 km long, with its source in southwestern Tanzania and its mouth on the Indian Ocean at a point between Mafia Island called Mafia...

. Mtwara serves as the access point for a growing tourism industry based in nearby Mikindani

Mikindani

Mikindani [translation: young palm trees], is a coastal African, Swahili town in south-eastern Tanzania.-History:In the far south of Tanzania, Mikindani is an old Swahili port that was once the centre of trade in southern Tanzania. The original inhabitants were joined around the 9th Century AD by...

.

Iron ore and coal

Mtwara might be the port for the export of iron ore and coal. There are plans to build a railway linking Mtwara with Lindi

Lindi

Lindi is a coastal town located at the far end of the Lindi Bay, on the Indian Ocean in southeastern Tanzania. The town is 450 kilometers south of Dar es Salaam and 105 kilometers north of Mtwara, the southernmost coastal town in Tanzania, and gives its name to the surrounding Lindi Region, one...

 and mines at Mchuchuma

Mchuchuma

Mchuchuma in south western Tanzania near the northern tip of Lake Nyasa, is the site of major coal deposits. There is also a thermal power station costing$612m....

 and Liganga

Liganga

Liganga is a site in Tanzania where iron ore is mined. It is also rich in both vanadium and titanium.The deposits are near Lake Malawi in the south of the country.- See also :* Railway stations in Tanzania - proposed*...

 via Songea

Songea

Songea is the capital of the Ruvuma Region in southeastern Tanzania. It is located along the A19 road. The city has a population of approximately 130,000, and is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Songea. Between 1905 and 1907 the city was a centre of African resistance during the Maji...

.

Entertainment

There are a number of clubs and bars in Mtwara, playing a range of music from bongo flava

Bongo Flava

Bongo flava is a nickname for Tanzanian hip hop music. The genre developed in the 1990s, mainly as a derivative of American hip hop, with additional influences from reggae, R&B, afrobeat, dancehall, and traditional Tanzanian styles such as taarab and dansi, a combination that forms a unique style...

 to western pop. The Bandari Club near the Cathedral has been a popular destination for locals and visitors to Mtwara for a number of years.

Sports

Mtwara is the hometown of Bandari F.C..
Large production of cashewnut in mtwara region (CDJLK)