ARUSHA, Tanzania, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania's hunting blocks will be placed on sale through online bidding portal on June 10, a senior official said on Monday.

Imani Nkuwi, the deputy Commissioner of the state-run Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority (TAWA) said that the move is meant to enhance transparency and curb corruption in the country's tourism industry.

Nkuwi said TAWA is currently conducting special training for local tour operators and safari hunting firms on how to log into the Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism portal, and place bids.

He said that through the open online bidding, values of hunting blocks will be market-driven and determined by buyers who win tenders.

"This time it won't be the government deciding how much a particular block costs, but the buyers themselves will compete against each other to bid for the plot," Nkuwi said.

According to Nkuwi, the first phase of online auction is scheduled to run from June 10 to June 17, as a total of 26 hunting blocks will be put up on sale.

Tanzania has 160 potential hunting blocks but 78 are occupied, leaving 82 blocks that will be put on sale through electronic bidding system in three phases. The second auction is expected to be held in September. Enditem

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