JPM earns praise for SGR, Dar port work

DAILY NEWS Reporter

Dar es Salaam port

CENTRAL Corridor stakeholders have praised President John Magufuli for efforts to improve Dar es Salaam port and upgrading railway lines and roads saying that would make the central corridor the preferred trade route for DR Congo, Burundi and Uganda.

Speaking at the end of the 11th Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency (CCTTFA) Stakeholders Consultative Committee meeting in Dar es Salaam recently, delegates from DR Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and the host Tanzania heaped praise to President Magufuli also for efforts to remove non-trade barriers.
CCTTFA Executive Secretary Dieudonne Dukundane said since coming to power, the 5th phase government was doing a lot to improve the economy of Tanzania, of which transport sector has received a special attention.
He cited improvements at the Dar port, SGR construction, the improvement of roads and transport infrastructures, removal of NTBs and the revival of ATC as areas where the government deserves praises.
The Dar es Salaam port is undergoing construction works to deepen and upgrade the port’s berths one to seven through the Dar es Salaam Maritime Gateway Project (DMGP) estimated to cost 421 million US dollars from World Bank, the United Kingdom and the government.
The construction work is expected to enable more ships to dock, offload and load shipments at the harbour at one time, reducing dwell time and enhancing efficiency.
The government is also expanding the country’s rail network with the construction of 1,219 kilometre long Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) along the central corridor to connect landlocked neighbouring countries with the Dar es Salaam port.
Last month President Magufuli laid the foundation stone for the second construction phase of the standard gauge railway from Morogoro region to Makutupora in Dodoma region covering 426 kilometres.
The construction work estimated to cost 1.923 billion US dollars (over 4tri/-) has been awarded to Yapi Merkezi, a Turkish construction firm. A 1.2 million US dollars construction work for the first phase of the railway from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro is ongoing under Yapi Merkezi and Portugal’s Mota - Engil Africa.
The CCTTFA Executive Secretary also thanked the government and all the member states for the support accorded to the Secretariat to enable it execute its mandate and make Central Corridor a Trade route of choice.
He informed the meeting that the Secretariat was implementing a 2017/18 Business Plan that is results oriented and is informed by the wishes and priorities of the Member States and a number of projects have been implemented and others are in pipeline.