Ruvu ICD promises jam relief

RODGERS LUHWAGO

MINISTER for Works, Transport and Communication, Prof Makame Mbarawa, speaks to Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) Director General, Eng Deusdedit Kakoko (right), when he inspected the progress on construction of inland container depot (ICD) at Ruvu, Coast Region, yesterday, which is undertaken by SUMA JKT of the Tanzania National Service. (Photo by Mohamed Mambo)

• 9bn/- project to handle 1,000,000 containers

EAGERLY awaited Inland Container Depot (ICD), currently under construction at Kwala area in Coast region, will start initial operations next January. Upon completion of the project’s first and second phases, the envisaged dry port is expected to handle over one million containers.

Briefing the Minister for Works, Transport and Communication, Prof Makame Mbarawa, who paid an impromptu visit to the construction site yesterday, Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) Director General Engineer Deusdedit Kakoko said the pace of project execution was going well albeit with minor challenges.

Engineer Kakoko said the total area that TPA acquired for the project execution measured 500 hectares but, in Phase I and II, the authority will focus on construction of infrastructure covering 60 hectares, equivalent to 600,000 square metres.

Although only 60 hectares will be involved in the initial two phases, Engineer Kakoko said the site preparation, including bush clearance, covered 120 hectares. He told the minister that phase II of the project will involve construction of the railway stretch of about 1.3 kilometres to connect the dry port to the central railway line to facilitate delivery of cargo to upcountry and the Great Lakes countries.

According to the project plan, the stretch, rail siding, from the dry port will be connected to the central railway line at Kwala Station in the Coast region. TPA and Tanzania Railway Limited (TRL) on August 18, 2017 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for construction of the rail siding at 1.66bn/-, a project that is expected to take two months.

Out of the 1.66bn/-, TPA will contribute 1.258bn/- with TRL disbursing the remaining 400m/-. The director general assured the minister that security measures would be taken to ensure the safety of cargo at the dry port.

He told the minister that upon completion, Phase I and II will significantly decongest Dar es Salaam City as vehicles will no longer flock Dar es Salaam Port for cargo shipment. “When this ICD becomes operational next January, containerised cargo destined for upcountry and Great Lakes countries will be brought here.

Customers will now be collecting their cargo right here, easing congestion in Dar es Salaam, speeding up cargo delivery as well as reducing costs to our valued customers,” he said. Engineer Kakoko made it clear that TPA will install two scanners in Phase II of the project to verify the types of imported and cleared cargo as well as facilitating smooth revenue collection.

Prof Mbarawa appreciated the project execution pace, asking TPA to closely work with Suma JKT, the contractor, to ensure the works are completed within the agreed timeframe. “This project is of great importance to the government because it will significantly ease congestion in Dar es Salaam, reduce time of cargo processing and redelivery to customers,” Prof Mbarawa stressed.

While Dar es Salaam Port can handle hardly 700,000 of containerised cargo, Kwala ICD at RuvuVigwaza will accommodate over one million containers, Prof Mbarawa said. Dar es Salaam port remains the largest habour in the country, handling 90 per cent of all cargo entering Tanzania, 45 per cent of which is containerised.

The distance by road from Dar es Salaam to Ruvu-Vigwaza Dry Port is 115 kilometres and 90 kilometres by railway. The total project in Phase I and II is expected to cost over 9bn-.