By Rodgers Luhwago in Sumbawanga
THE government is
poised to reap huge profit from Kasanga Port, which is currently
undergoing expansion, following the construction of a strategic road
stretching from...
Sumbawanga Municipality to the terminal.
The early signs of
good performance of the terminal were seen on Saturday afternoon when
the 'Daily News' witnessed a fleet of trucks from Mbeya Region riding to
the harbour to offload cement cargo destined for Burundi with drivers
and a ship captain expressing their appreciations to the government for
constructing a 110-kilometre carriageway.
A truck driver from
Triple S Company Mr Elias Sadala, who transports cement cargo from
Mbeya Cement to the terminal which is in Kalambo District, said riding
on rough road from Sumbawanga to the terminal in those days was like
hell on earth.
"Sincerely speaking
we remain thankful to the government for improving transport
infrastructures, including roads and ports as it also helps us improve
our incomes," he said.
Ambrose Nkoswe,
also truck driver said: "We sincerely thank President John Magufuli for
this road project. We did not expect this carriageway to be in this
state that we witness today."
But, Mr Yusuf
Mwangupili, who also drives a truck, gave his shocking testimony, saying
during the dark days it would take up to two days riding between
Sumbawanga and Kasanga Port, a situation that significantly reduced
cargo at the terminal.
"With the
construction of this road and the ongoing expansion of the port the flow
of cargo to the terminal will significantly improve.
Previously you
could see only one or two lorries offloading cargo at the terminal but
currently one can witness between eight and 20 trucks arriving here to
offload cargo per day," he said.
"Given the little
time that we now spend on the road between Mbeya and Kasanga Port we
(drivers) can now make savings from our allowances as opposed to the
past," Mr Mwangupili said.
The captain of MV
Rwegura, a cargo ship that was found at the terminal loading cement
cargo destined for Burundi, Mr Mbonyumuvumi Michael appreciated the
ongoing expansion of Kasanga port, saying the habour would now have
ample space to allow more than one ship to dock at a time.
He also hailed the
government for constructing Sumbawanga- Kasanga Port road to the tarmac
level as it would now increase the flow of cargo to the terminal.
"As you can see
now, if you arrive here and find a ship loading cargo you have to wait
at the outer anchorage as the berth can't allow more than one ship to
dock at a time due to insufficient space.
In so doing you
waste time and money but this expansion will do away with all these
problems," he said. Kasanga Port, which is the second largest terminal
in Lake Tanganyika after Kigoma terminal and the largest habour in Rukwa
Region, is undergoing expansion by the Tanzania Ports Authority ( TPA)
at the cost of 4.76bn/-.
According to Kigoma
Port Manager, who is in charge of all ports in Lake Tanganyika, Mr
Percival Salama, the project involves lengthening its berth from 20 to
120 metres to enable more than one ship to dock at once and building
residential houses for TPA staff.
The terminal would
also have its open cargo storage area (wharf) reinforced to keep loose
and containerized cargo after offloading from ships.
Showing how
important the terminal was for the country's economy Mr Salama said from
2014/15 financial year to 2018/19 all ports in Lake Tanganyika
generated 18bn/- in revenue with Kasanga Port alone contributing 19 per
cent of the collections.
According to the
port manager, little revenue collected from all Tanganyika ports was
contributed by poor performance of Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC)
and little number of ports that were operating during the financial
years under review.
He said only
Kasanga port which was first constructed between 1995 and 1998 and
Kigoma terminal built between 1922 and 1927 were operating.
The two terminals serve cargo destined for DR Congo, Burundi, Zambia and Rwanda.
No comments :
Post a Comment