MAJOR shipping companies and maritime sector's key stakeholders are delighted with enhanced efficiency at Tanzania's principal port of Dar es Salaam, which is a gateway for approximately 95 per cent of Tanzanian trade.
The Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) has massively strengthened operations in the country's major sea gateway, which is also the access route to six land-linked countries including Malawi, Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), resulting in increased cargo traffic and revenues for the government.
Speaking on various occasions, officials from shipping agencies and traders commended improvement of the port's operations, efficiency and competitiveness, noting that the TPA has sufficiently been meeting the logistical needs of its clients.
Looking to turn the country's ports into a hub for regional waterway transportation, the Government of Tanzania has and continues to commit huge investments in infrastructure, equipment, technology and expertise.
Such huge investments have tremendously increased efficiency of operation and service systems at Dar es Salaam, its sister ports of Tanga and Mtwara as well as a host of inland ports on major lakes of Victoria, Tanganyika, Nyasa and Rukwa.
The international trade in the region mainly depends upon sea transport mode, and with the containerisation rising rapidly, Tanzania's principal port of Dar es Salaam, plays a crucial role as the logistic platform for the regional economy.
Among the admirers of the Dar es Salaam Port is Italian Ambassador in Tanzania, Marco Lombardi, who commends strong efforts by TPA to improve the capacity of Dar es Salaam port.
"This is a very strategic port because it is in a very important African position to the world," said Ambassador Lombardi recently. Capt Giuseppe Fedele, Regional Managing Director and CEO of the world's biggest shipping companies, Messina Line, apart from lauding enhanced operations at Dar es Salaam Port, expressed his delight on the existing cordial business relationship with the TPA.
"We're in a very good relationship with the TPA and we have invested a lot in our operations at the port of Dar es Salaam over the years," stated Mr Fedele.
For his part, Operations Manager at Messina Line, Maximiliano Ricardo, said his company considers Dar es Salaam as their port of choice. "We're very satisfied with the relationship for real... to be working in the country in a real friendly way.
TPA, since the beginning, was very close to us, we felt TPA like a partner and probably TPA is feeling us as a partner, we always consider Dar es Salaam as our best port." Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Simba Logistics Limited, Mr Azim Dewji, a prominent businessman dealing in transport and logistics, one of the major users of port services in the country, also hailed considerable improvements at the Dar es Salaam port, saying despite a surge in cargo in recent years, the quality of services offered by the port is competitive.
Mr Dewji commended considerable improvements at Dar es Salaam port, saying despite a surge in cargo volume in recent years, he was delighted with the quality of services offered by the port.
"Dar es Salaam port remains my best and preferred choice due to the short distance from the terminal to my destination, running costs are very efficient to me," the businessman said yesterday on phone from Madagascar, lauding the sixth phase government, under President Samia Suluhu Hassan for continuously improving the country's ports.
According to Mr Dewji, he recently sent his company's delegation to the African Mining Indaba Exhibition in Cape Town, South Africa, where they successfully secured business deals through the port of Dar es Salaam. He congratulated the TPA management for reduced berthing time, high occupancy ratio, high productivity, low cost and adequate cargo security.
The Dar es Salaam port has continued to set new shipment records.
In a short period between April 8 and May 9, this year, the port twice smashed the record of vehicles shipment in a single vessel. On April 8, the Dar es Salaam Port handled a Frontier Ace ship, carrying a record 4,041 vehicles, of which 2,936 were in transit to neighboring countries and the remaining 1105 vehicles were for Tanzania.
On May 9, the Dar Port broke its previous record after receiving a Meridian Ace ship, with 4,397 vehicles onboard. Speaking following the successful shipment of the vehicles, Operations Manager of Inchcape Shipping Services, Mr John Massawe, the company that handled both vessels, said this was the start of a new journey to effectively utilise the Dar port's massive potential. He lauded the Tanzania Ports Authority for maintaining schedule integrity.
"The ship was scheduled to leave Japan on March 21, and arrive on April 8, congratulations for maintaining the schedule integrity, this is very important in our business," Mr Massawe remarked.
"The very reason I'm here is thanking the Dar es Salaam Port for the fantastic service that you offer us. This is the testament for our long-standing partnership with the Port of Dar es Salaam," added Mitsui O. S. K. Lines Operations Director, Mr Bruce Sebastian after Frontier Ace's successful voyage from Japan to Tanzania.
Apart from well-developed railways networks, Tanzania boasts a comparative advantage of a superior national highway system, which is recognised as one of the best developed in Eastern, Southern and Central Africa.
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This gives the country an upper hand in delivery of cargoes in terms of transit time, flexibility and frequency. Speaking recently during President Samia's tour of Uganda, the Executive Chairman of Roofing Group, Dr Sikander Lalani, expressed his company's readiness to import raw materials and export finished products through Tanzania's ports of Dar es Salaam, Tanga and Mwanza.
Buoyed by an impressive performance by the Dar es Salaam port and other terminals, TPA's Director General, Eric Hamissi envisages all-round growth as he oozes confidence of becoming one of the biggest port and maritime service providers in Africa.
"We really want to be an integral part of the end-to-end business," says DG Hamissi, noting the 2021/2022 has been a game changer in terms of overall throughput and the port's performance. On increased efficiency, the TPA DG says: "Overall, this translates to noticeable improvements in voyage productivity, container dwell time, container traffic and truck visit time."
"That is of paramount importance and my number one goal because efficiency cuts down cost and time which are the two major resources for any business to prosper," he adds.
