Summary
·
The ship
can carry 1,200 passengers, 400 tonnes of cargo, 20 small vehicles and three
trucks.
· The vessel will have a VVIP section for national leaders as well as regular VIP facilities including a first-class section.
Tanzania has floated East Africa's
largest-ever domestically manufactured fresh water passenger and cargo ship,
the MV Mwanza Hapa Kazi Tu, on Lake Victoria.
The ship, launched at the Mwanza
South Port on February 12, can carry 1,200 passengers, 400 tonnes of cargo, 20
small vehicles and three trucks. It is currently 82 percent complete.
"Up to this point of float-out,
we can say the ship is complete and the remaining 18 percent is just minor
installations that will be done in less than four months," said Eric
Hamissi, the chief executive officer of Tanzania's Marine Services Company
Limited.
Hamissi explained that the next
phase includes finishing internal aesthetics such as paintwork, fixing air
conditioners, beds, and toilets and installing navigation equipment.
Cost
of vessel
The ship's construction began in
January 2019 and was led by two South Korean companies, Gas Entec and KangNam
Corporation. The 92.6 metre-long, 17-metre wide and 20-metre-high vessel will
cost the taxpayers over Tsh100 billion (US$43 million).
"Until now, the contractor has
been paid more than 93.8 billion by the government, and when he completes the
work, the remaining amount will be paid," said Hamissi.
Upon completion, the ship will weigh
3,500 tonnes.
Design
MV Mwanza's design includes an elevator section for people with
disabilities, a clinic to provide health services, a disco and facilities for a
music band to entertain passengers.
The ship is expected to ply Lake
Victoria, providing a key transport and trade network between Jinja and
Portbell in Uganda, Kisumu in Kenya, and Mwanza, Bukoba, Kemondo and Musoma in
Tanzania.
The vessel will have a VVIP section
for national leaders as well as regular VIP facilities including a first-class
section with a capacity for 60 people, business class for 100 people and second
class for 200 people.
"The last will be the economy
class which will be carrying 834 passengers and, in this class, passengers will
enjoy a modern ambience with maximum relaxation, enabling them to tour
comfortably," said Hamissi.
Stimulate
economic growth
The Tanzanian government expects the
ship to stimulate economic growth, especially after the 2026 railway project
(SGR) completion from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza.
Tanzania's Deputy Minister for Works
and Transport Atupele Mwakibete said that the ship would help "open new
markets inside and outside the country by starting new trips that will help
facilitate commercial, business, tourism and private trips".
Tanzania is also renovating
the MV Umoja, a cargo vessel, the MT Nyangumi, for
carrying petroleum products and the MT Ukerewe.
Big
business
Kenya officially relaunched the
refurbished MV Uhuru 1 in May 2021 after the project stalled
for over 15 years.
Since it resumed operations,
the MV Uhuru, with a 1,260-tonne capacity, has transported over 50
million litres of petroleum products.
The success of the Uhuru saw
the government order a new vessel, MV Uhuru II, from Kenya Shipyard
Limited (KSL) in Kisumu.
The 1,800-tonne, 100-meter vessel,
with an estimated capacity of 2 million litres of crude oil per trip, is the
first ship to be made in Kenya by Kenyans. Dutch firm Damen Damen Construction
Company, which has shipyards in South Africa and Egypt, provided consultancy
services during the ship's construction.
The Sh2.4 billion (US$ 19.2
million) MV Uhuru II vessel was floated in August 2022 and is
expected to start operations in May 2023.
KSL has received six new orders for
the construction of ships from Tanzania and Uganda and another 11 orders from
local firms.
Uganda also shipped its maiden fuel
cargo from the Port of Kisumu using a newly-launched tanker, Kabaka
Mutebi 11, in December 2022.
Water
transport corridor
The 4.5 million litres of fuel
ferried aboard that ship marked the revival of a water transport corridor
between Kenya and Uganda. The MV Mwanza is expected to provide
a further boost to burgeoning trade across Africa's great lakes.
"With the vessel's full
utilisation, fuel prices will reduce, resulting in fair commodity prices in the
country," Geoffrey Balamaga, the assistant commissioner of field services,
told Uganda's Independent, in an interview.
A cubic meter of fuel (1,000 litres)
currently costs US$40 to transport to Uganda by road, compared to a maximum of
US$25 by ship.
In 2021, the Ugandan government also
commissioned the transportation of petroleum products aboard the MV
Kaawa from Mwanza, Tanzania to Port Bell in Kampala. Uganda's Mahathi
Infra Uganda Ltd is busy with the construction of three more vessels.
In 2019, the East African Community,
at a joint ministerial meeting on strategy for Lake Victoria integrated
transport programme, revealed that the Lake Victoria's transport infrastructure
has the potential of generating US$60 billion worth of trade annually but
currently only realises around USD$6 billion for the three countries combined.
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