Dar Es Salaam — Tanzania plans to lease two inland cargo terminals to a consortium of local and international firms that will operate them for three years starting January 2007.

The leasing of Kigoma Port Cargo Terminal and Kasanga Port Cargo Terminal on Lake Tanganyika will be implemented next year.

Ms. Jane Kitilya, director of planning in the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), told Business Week that the two cargo terminals will be leased to reduce the government's burden on investing in commercial entities.

Kitilya said TPA also needs to improve efficiency, competitiveness and have cost effective investments in leasing out the cargo terminals. "The process to concession other units is in progress," she said.

In July 2006, the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) acquired seven inland ports operations which were previously owned and operated by the Marine Services Company Limited (MSCL), a subsidiary of the Tanzania Railways Corporation Ltd in a new move to streamline its activities. Mr. Flavian Kinunda, Director of Marketing at TPA, told Business Week that the seven inland ports around Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Nyasa will start charging fees for any cargo loaded from the vessels anchoring there.

Kinunda said that effective August 2006, TPA started collecting dues including jetty fees, rent charges in conformity with customs as defined in Regulations 213 and 215 subject to a minimum value of US$200 and a maximum value of $2,500 per port tonne.

"Wharfage charges shall be raised on all cargo passing over with the quays, wharves, jetties and buoys belonging to the authority," he said adding that port dues shall be paid by all vessels entering the inland port.

The port dues to be charged by TPA will be raised on gross registered tonnage of the vessel in which rate per 100 GRT would be $10 for the first five days and for each successive five days period TPA would be charging $6.