Cargo clearing at Tanzania's ports has increased by nearly one-third since the arrival of four new cranes in October, the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) announced Saturday (January 12th).

The TPA purchased four new cranes -- one for Tanga port and three for Dar es Salaam port -- at a cost of $13.9 million, Tanzania's The Guardian reported. With the modern cranes, cargo clearing has been significantly quicker, jumping from an earlier average of 216 containers per hour to 315 per hour last month, according to TPA Container Terminal acting manager Brigita Madolomani.

Development partners from the European Union have encouraged Tanzania to prioritise increasing efficiency at the ports to make shipping more economically viable, as shipping to Dar es Salaam remains more expensive than the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. Reforms and the suspension of corrupt officials have allowed Dar es Salaam port to become more competitive.