ABDUEL ELINAZA
The Dar es Salaam Port is increasingly becoming a preferred area for Rwanda Rwanda’s maritime trade channelled through the Dar es Salaam Port on the Central Corridor has doubled in the last two years, as the port overtakes the rival Mombasa port in handling cargo to and from the landlocked East African country.
The Tanzania International Container Terminal (TICTS) said in a statement that at least 70 per cent of all deep-sea cargo to and from Rwanda passes through Dar es Salaam Port.
“Over the past two years this volume has doubled,” TICTS, which handles more than 80 per cent of all containers passing through Dar es Salaam Port, said in a statement.
A delegation led by TICTS Chief Executive Officer, Mr Paul Wallace, visited Rwanda, accompanied by representatives from TAFFA, Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency and TASAA.
This was prompted by an earlier visit to the port by President Paul Kagame this year. The Tanzania delegation was co-hosted by the Rwandan Minister of East African Community (EAC), Ms Valentine Rugwabiza and the Tanzanian Ambassador to Rwanda, Mr Ali Idi Siwa.
The delegation held important development discussions with Rwandan Ministers for Trade and Industry and Infrastructure, as well as the Commissioner General of the Rwanda Revenue Authority.
“In order to serve this growth and prepare for increased growth in the future, the delegation highlighted TICTS’ ongoing programme of investment and innovation,” the statement said.
The delegation discussed the major reconstruction project to be managed by Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) to deliver significant upgrades to the port, road and rail infrastructure, to be co-financed by World Bank, DFID and Trademark East Africa.
The investment includes a 53bn/- private investment in new port cranes while it shall further invest 65bn/- in 2016 on additional new cranes and infrastructure, ahead of a much greater private-financed expansion planned for 2017 onwards.
The statement shows that a networking lunch and a series of one-to-one meetings with the private sector were well received and showed the business community has great confidence in the Port of Dar es Salaam and its future.
In addition, more detail regarding the developments already achieved in the port to ease the process of doing business was shared. Such development as e-billing, e-payments and Big Results Now initiatives, as well as the enhanced transport sector efficiencies implemented at Tanzania’s national port.
