Dodoma: THE government has said it will in the next financial year continue to revamp the Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) by purchasing new aircrafts in efforts to strengthen economic activities in the country.
Meanwhile, the government considers the best ways to merge the current Meter Gauge Railway (MGR), the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) and the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) so as to tap the potential opportunity of a vast railway network the country is endowed with.
Minister for Works Professor Makame Mbarawa gave the statement in parliament yesterday, when moving budget estimates for his ministry, where he requested lawmakers to approve 2.73tril/- in both development and recurrent expenditures.
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Out of the suggested budget, the minister noted, 114.7bn/- will be spent in recurrent while the remaining 2.6tril/- will be for development expenditures.
He said the decision to merge MGR, SGR and TAZARA, will intensify railway connectivity of the central railway with that of TAZARA through the Kidatu centre.
According to him, many works’ projects need a lot of capital, explaining that the SGR project require a total of 23tril/- until its full completion.
“By considering the importance of this railway, and the fact that it was connecting cargo business from Songwe, Mbeya, Iringa and Morogoro as well as allowing interaction with the Great Lakes regions, this is yet another opportunity for markets connecting EAC, SADC and COMESA and later the SGR,’’ he said, adding that the major focus of the government was to open up the country as well simplifying trade inside and outside the country.
The minister outlined key priorities for his ministry in the next financial year, among them, continuing to implement plans and strategies to intensify the transport market for both cargo and passengers outside the country, especially through the ATCL by marketing the company locally and internationally.
He said the government will equally continue to improve airports countrywide, improving key infrastructures including putting up traffic lights at the various airports. This according to the minister was part of the implementation of the third Five Year Development Plan (FYDP III) as well as the 2020 Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) Manifesto.
On ATCL, Prof Mbarawa said that the government was continuing to improve efficiency at all levels by purchasing new aircrafts and putting up friendly infrastructures for service delivery and improving aviation garages at all airports.
He added that improvement measures at ATCL are aimed at increasing management efficiency so as to maintain service delivery for both local and international markets in transporting both passengers and cargo as well as improving tourism services, minerals, agriculture and intensifying services for transporting perishable goods.
The purchase of aircrafts as well as improving aviation infrastructure seek to reduce operational costs by ATCL as well as making the latter competitive in the world’s aviation sector.
Professor Mbarawa further said that sweeping changes and improvements at ATCL have improved services delivery, adding that as of March 2024, ATCL had continued to improve services in the aviation sector by intensifying transport services both locally and internationally.
Available statistics show that ATCL offered services to about 850,000 passengers compared to 826,594 during the corresponding period in the 2022/23 financial year. An increment shows a steady increase of about 2.91per cent according to the minister.
According to him, 650,221 were local passengers while the remaining 200,439 were international passengers. “Between July 2023 and March 2024, ATCL transported 5,034.2 tonnes of cargo inside and outside the country compared to 2,680.9 tonnes during 2022/23 and this an increment of about 87.78 per cent,’’ he added.
The minister said that the increment in numbers was attributed to the kicking off of operations by a cargo aircraft, Boeing 767-300F with the capacity to carry 54 tonnes between Dar es Salaam and 101 centres, which includes Nairobi and Dubai as well as other destinations of Mumbai (India), Eldoret (Kenya), Mombasa (Kenya), Bujumbura (Burundi), Kinshasa (Congo DRC), Bangui (Central Africa), N’Djamena (Chad), Entebbe (Uganda), and Lusaka (Zambia).
“This aircraft has so far transported 2,084.7 tonnes equivalent to 41.41per cent of cargo that has been ferried during a similar period,” he added.
Regarding supervision and purchasing of aircrafts, Prof Mbarawa said, between July 2023 and March 2024, the government completed the payment of three aircrafts which are two Boeing 737-9 Max and one Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.
He said that two aircrafts, Boeing 737-9 Max had already arrived in the country whereas the first one was received on October 3, 2023 while the second was received on March 2024. Also he noted, the remaining one aircraft, Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner is expected to arrive in the country by the end of May 2024.
“The arrival of the expected new aircraft will make ATCL to have a total of 16 aircrafts which will make the State-Owned aviation company to extend its transport network inside and outside the country, thus helping to catalyse other economic sectors including mining, tourism, trade, agriculture, livestock and fisheries.
On the improvement of the Dar es Salaam port, Prof Mbarawa said, TPA was implementing a raft of measures whereas deepening of the depth had now reached 15.5 metres and that the expansion of the entrance main gate and the ships docking site had reached a depth of 200 metres.
“Currently, the port has a capacity to receive longer ships of up to 305 metres and now a feasibility study for improvement of Berth number 8-11 and the construction of Berth 12-15 seeking to receive ships and containers, while the contract to build Single Receiving Terminal (SRT) which involves tank farms and its infrastructures with the capacity to preserve 420,000 cubic metres was signed on February 26, 2024 and preparations for kicking off of the construction is now on top gear,’’ he added.
Equally, Prof Mbarawa said, improvement of the second phase of the Tanga port has been completed by 100 per cent, whereas the ongoing works were improving Berth number 2 with a depth of 450 metres and improving an area for preserving containers with 6,400 square metres as well a capacity to preserve 1,020 containers.
Also, other works included the purchase of several turbines including Forklift (4), Crane (3), Container spreaders (4), Terminal Tractors (2) Front end loader (1), Empty handlers stacking (1) and Grabs (1) seeking to intensify containers services.
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