Dar Port expansion heralds trade boom

ALVAR MWAKYUSA

LOCAL shipping agents, freight forwarders and transporters are foreseeing booming business opportunities and enhanced efficiency once the expansion work at the Dar es Salaam port is completed and the envisioned electronic single window system becomes operational.

Installed capacity at the country’s major gateway is presently at 18 million tonnes, but with the planned deepening and strengthening of berths at the port through the Dar es Salaam Maritime Gateway Project (DMGP), the capacity will surge to 28 million tonnes.

Speaking in separate interviews with the ‘Daily News,’ industry players were upbeat that the coming of larger ocean vessels will reduce unit cost due to economies of scale and the same time reduce the dwell time that ships have been using at the harbour.

“It is as well obvious that the government will register more revenue with the booming business at the port,” the Chairman of Tanzania Shipping Agents Association (TASAA), Mr Anil Patel, told this paper yesterday.

Mr Patel was equally impressed that the envisaged electronic single window system, to become operational in 16-months’ time, will do away with red tape since importers and exporters will be allowed to lodge documents electronically.

“There will be no need to shuttle from one government institution to another since everything will be done online. All responsible institutions will be connected to the system,” Mr Patel remarked.

The views were supported by the Secretary General of Tanzania Freight Forwarders Association (TAFFA), Mr Tony Swai, who described the Dar es Salaam port as a ‘gold mine.’

“The port is strategically positioned; with the planned upgrading we will be able to directly receive larger ships from Dubai, China, India and elsewhere. “The shallow and narrow entrance at the turning basin have been a challenge, but this is set to change with the deepening and widening at the harbour,” he explained.

Reached for comments, the Chairperson of Tanzania Truck Owners Association (TATOA), Ms Angelina Ngalula, hailed President John Magufuli for the efforts to upgrade the port.

The trio went on and informed the ‘Daily News’ that they were preparing themselves for the expected increased shipments at the harbour. The dwell time for local consignment is now at between six and seven days while transit shipment take between 12-14 days, but Mr Patel was confident that the time will be significantly reduced after completion of the upgrading.

Last Sunday, Dr Magufuli laid a foundation stone for deepening and strengthening of berths one to seven at the Dar es Salaam port, whose construction is expected to be completed in the next 30 months.

The 926.2bn/- project is being funded by the World Bank, United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DfID) and the government of Tanzania.

Upon completion of the upgrading project, the harbour will be in a position to handle larger ships, post Panamax, which can carry between 6,000 and 8,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) from the maximum capacity of 4,000 TEUs by smaller ships currently docking at the port.

President Magufuli pointed to the fact that the project will benefit not only Tanzania but also its land-locked neighbours of Rwanda, Zambia, Burundi, Uganda, Malawi and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

He noted further that the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) will depend highly on effectiveness at the port. The Director General of Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), Eng. Deusdedit Kakoko, said the venture will be undertaken in two phases, the first one being expansion of the berths, construction of terminals and a specialised berth for imported vehicles (Ro-Ro terminal).

Last year, the harbour handled 14 million tonnes, up from 13.8 million tonnes in 2016 and 13.1 million tonnes in 2013, reflecting an average growth of 9 per cent per year over the last five years.