ANALYSTS have lauded the government over the signed agreements between the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) and the DP World for running operations at the Dar es Salaam Port for the country's development, saying it was good that the move has considered public opinions.
Speaking in separate interviews with the 'Daily News' on Sunday, an Economist-cum-Investment Banker, Dr Hildebrand Shayo, said the deal will benefit both sides in a number of ways including the existing of solutions for the private funding of public initiatives and save the government money.
Dr Shayo said another benefit is the use of private expertise and management in public projects which will boost overall project development and operational efficiency.
"The amended Public Private Partnership (PPP) Act now gives tax benefits in compliance with the Tanzania Investment Act (TIA) Cap. 38, government guarantees and aid in securing capital, thus this signing is an opportune and will benefit the Tanzanian government greatly," Dr Shayo said.
Moreover, he said that from a business perspective, the incentives are designed to promote an environment that is conducive to investment and increase the involvement of the private sector in key initiatives.
On his part, Economist and Senior Lecturer Dr Romanus Dimoso at the Mzumbe University, commended the recent decisions made by government to improve the port contract by highlighting specific areas that have been improved, including the clarification of the contract duration and the number of port gates involved in the agreement.
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Dr Dimoso also commended the government for considering public opinions especially in defining the contract's duration and that the contract pertains to the Dar es Salaam port exclusively.
The Economist noted that due to various discussions with activists and lawyers, it appears that people are not necessarily against investments, but advocate for a higher level of diligence by government officials when entering into such agreements.
However, he said that the citizens should know that DP-World project will improve the port infrastructure.
For his side, business expert and lecturer at the Saint Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT), Dr Sylvester Jotta, said that Tanzania will reap tremendous benefits from the strengthened infrastructure of the Dar es Salaam Port by the DP World including fast tracking of cargo offloading in making the port withstand competition in the Eastern Africa Region.
Dr Jotta said by utilising the natural competitive advantage of the Dar es Salaam Port of being closer to the land-linked countries including Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Burundi, the port will see an increase of customers following the world class cargo handling services that will be offered by the DP World.
"High efficiency of the Dar Port will attract immense customers as for many years it has been facing delays in cargo offloading culminating in to some potentials customers to opt other ports especially the Mombasa Port in Kenya and Beira Port in Mozambique," Dr Jotta said.
Dr Jotta added that port expansion will boost road and railway transportation as timely offloading of cargo will trigger more movement of trucks and trains.
