MTWARA: IN a bid to boost efficiency at the Port of Mtwara, the government has assembled two more mobile harbour cranes for the port to enhance productivity and reduce vessel waiting time.
The equipment arrived yesterday following directives issued by President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan to the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) to provide necessary tools to the deepest port (Mtwara Port) and the second largest port to enhance productivity.
The President issued the directive in September 2023, when she visited the port to explore productivity at the port following the massive investment at the port.
Speaking to the press on behalf of the Director General of TPA, the authority’s Public Relation and Communication Manager Nicodemus Mushi said the mobile harbour cranes have been picked from Tanga and Dar es Salaam Ports.
“The arrival of the two mobile harbour cranes follows the directives issued by President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan to TPA in September 2023, to ensure the port of Mtwara is provided with all the required facilities to enable it to provide more services,” he said.
Mr Mushi said the two cranes will further boost efficiency at the port and attract more customers to use the strategic terminal which is currently the second largest port in the country.
According to TPA official Humphrey Kiwia, speaking on behalf of the director of engineering services, the two mobile cranes have the capacity to handle 100 and 63 tonnes of cargo.
Acting Manager of Mtwara Port, Mr Duncan Kazibure said the two cranes bring to three the number of mobile harbour cranes at the port of Mtwara, saying the facilities will help see more port services.
He said after the massive investment at the Mtwara Port, the terminal now has the capacity to handle 1,000,000 tonnes of cargo per year.
He said the TPA plans to ensure Mtwara port handles 1.2 million tones of cargo per year.
When President Dr Samia visited the port in September 2023, she promised to set more budget for improving Mtwara Port in a bid to make it the largest water gateway and an engine for Southern Zone and neighboring countries’ economic boom.
“Statistics indicate that Mtwara Port can become the biggest port, the same as Dar es Salaam Port and this is possible if you (Tanzania Ports Authority (management) devote to work hard and diligently,” she said.
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