The Dar es Salaam port is expected to raise its cargo volume by 25% by the end of 2015, while improving its operations efficiency in order to cover the domestic demand’s growth.
The port, which is currently handling 14.4 million TN of cargo a year, is expected to reach the 18 million TN with the improvements, and 28 million TN by the end of the year 2020, explained Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete in his last address to the parliament last week.
The construction of two new berths are set to help the expansion of the port’s capacity by increasing the quantity of 20-feet containers handled by year from 0.6 to 1.2 million units, added President Kikwete.
Regarding to the improvements on operations efficiency, Tanzania is in talks with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia for establishing a single customs territory seeking costs reductions and time saving, he concluded.
With the Tanzanian population expected to double by 2040 and 90% of Tanzania’s trade passing by Dar es Salaam port, improvements are needed now to prepare the port for current and future demand.
The World Bank estimates that in 2014 losses due to high Dar Es Salaam port costs reached the USD 1.8 billion for Tanzania and USD 800 million for neighboring countries Zambia, DRC, Malawi, Rwanda, and Uganda.
According to the World Bank, the trade costs are 60% higher between Tanzania and China, than between Brazil and Asian country, despite the distance to the latter is double of that one with Tanzania.
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