Acting Director General of the Tanzania Ports Authority, Awadhi Massawe
He told editors of Tanzania media houses on a familiarisation tour
of the Dar es Salaam port that major infrastructural improvements and
good working relations with port users were behind steady cargo traffic
growth at the port.
“The traffic growth is steady and encouraging,” he told the
editors,adding: “all of these can be translated into two cardinal
service delivery tenets: good working relations and understand what the
stakeholders want.”
Massawe said major reforms and infrastructural development projects
that have been executed in recent years sought to enhance the port’s
performance, telling editors that 40 per cent of the government revenue
comes from ports.
It was only pertinent and rational that editors and port
authorities work together to ensure ports work efficiently for the good
of the nation, the acting director general said appealing to editors:
“let’s work together to ensure ports had a good image and perform well
so that they generate the requisite revenue for the welfare of
Tanzanians.”
Speaking on behalf of the editors, Chairman of Tanzania Editors’
Forum (TEF), Absalom Kibanda appreciated reforms and improvements at the
port but said TPA and the government should focus on improving railway
transport because, he said, it was the cheapest and probably the
quickest haulage system if it worked well.
“With efficient TRL or TAZARA cargo trains the flow of cargo from
Dar es Salaam port will be steady and economical,” he said, noting that
without reliable railway transport all efforts by TPA would be
meaningless.
The Nipashe Newspaper Managing Editor, Jesse Kwayu, echoed
Kibanda’s observations saying a problematic railway haulage system will
always be the hurdle to TPA’s efforts to improve the port’s efficiency.
According to Massawe the port is poised to become one of the most
modern and efficient by 2020 when World Bank Group and UK’s Department
for International Development funded project is completed.
He said that the 596 million US dollars (over 1.1bn/-) which was
kick-started in April, this year will greatly improve infrastructure at
the country’s prime port.
Masawe said by 2020, the port’s capacity will increase to over 22
million metric tons from the current 14 million tons per annum while
ship’s dwell time will be reduced to five days.
“The project involves demolition of sheds to pave way for a
container terminal, duo access roads to Gates 3, 5 and 8, dredging of
the port’s mouth,” Masawe said.
The TPA acting DG said the port which last year handled 14 million
metric tons against a target of 13.5 million tons thanks to Big Results
Now, will handle 18 million metric tons by 2017.
World Bank Country Director for Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda,
Philippe Dongier said development partners are committed to assisting
government improve and modernise the port’s infrastructure because of
its importance to the country and the region.
“The East Africa region has one of the fastest growing economies in
the world with most cargo going through Dar es Salaam port, there has
been a 10 per cent annual increase in freight for the past five years,”
Dongier said in a speech read on his behalf by a senior WB Dar es Salaam
official, Monthe Biyoudi. World Bank is a concessional loan of 400
million US dollars which is the first of its kind in the Africa region.
The funding will also include a grant of 136 million US dollars
from DFID with another 60 million US dollars from Trade Mark East
Africa.
“This sum also excludes the essential investment in the access
infrastructure, the three key access roads, the Kilwa, Nyerere and
Mandela roads, together with proposed southern by pass, between Dar es
Salaam port round to the airport and then to Kibaha, which the World
Bank, and partners, will be providing in parallel,” he noted.
DFID Head of Mission, Vell Gnanendran said despite recent
improvements, the port remains overwhelmed hence needs urgent expansion
and modernisation to meet demand and reduce the cost of trade.
“This is why we have committed 63 million US dollars to this first
phase of the Dar es Salaam Maritime Gateway Project, and why we are
planning to invest up to a further 130 million US dollars in the second
phase along with the World Bank,” Gnanendran noted.
“Dar es Salaam port handles two thirds of this country imports and
exports but also goods from neighbouring landlocked countries in the
region which is one of the fastest growing economically,” Gnanendran
said.
The private sector which has been on the receiving end of Dar es
Salaam port’s constrained capacity, is hoping that the DMGP will finally
improve infrastructure.
DSM Corridor Group Chief Executive Officer, Erik Kok said his
company wants to escape from the traffic congested Dar es Salaam port by
establishing a dry port at Kisaware in Coast Region.
“By taking cargo to Kisarawe dry port and then through Kibaha by
trucks will reduce time and costs compared to the current route,” said
Kok whose handled over 1.6 million tons of cargo last year which is over
10 per cent of the 14 million tons handled by Dar es Salaam port.
Kok expressed hope that the project will address the issue of
infrastructure improvement especially roads from the port to Inland
Container Depots.
He said poor roads are prohibiting cargo trucks from carrying maximum capacity of their load because of fears of accidents.
“Trucks which can carry two containers cannot do so because of bad
roads, they can only manage single 20 feet containers instead of two,”
he pointed out.
Ministry of Transport Permanent Secretary, Dr Shabaan Mwinjaka said
the project which is part of Big Results Now initiative will include
modernising and upgrading of Berth 1 to 7 while aged general cargo
warehouses will be demolished to pave way for container handling
equipment.
“We have already signed memorandum of understanding with
governments of Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo which have
pledged to use Dar es Salaam port for their imports and exports,” Dr
Mwinjaka said before kick-starting the demolition exercise of aged
warehouses in April, this year.
He urged the private sector to join forces in implementing the
ambitious project which also involves modernisation of the central
railway line and reduction of border barriers.
With support from Trade Mark East Africa, the number of road blocks
and weighbridges between Dar es Salaam and Kigoma in the borders of
Burundi and Rwanda will be reduced from over a dozen to three by 2020.
The country’s prime port also serves six land locked countries of Burundi, DR Congo, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia.
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