DAR ES SALAAM: THE government is ready to serve the Central Corridor countries through Kwala Dry Port, a move that will facilitate easy handling of cargo passing through the Dar es Salaam Port, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport Dr Godius Kyaharara has said.
According to him, the government has already developed five out of 502 hectares for the construction of the dry port.
The PS made the remark on Friday when he toured the project as part of preparations for the meeting of Ministers of Transport and Infrastructure in the central corridor which is expected to be held at the end of this month.
Dr Kyaharara said so far eight countries have been given areas for storing transit cargo in Kwala Dry Port which is located in Coast Region.
"Through Kwala Dry Port, Tanzania is ready to serve the central corridor countries which geographically entails the countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)," Dr Kyaharara. Adding:
"We have two allies who have joined, which are Zambia and Malawi, since we gave the cargo storage area to Zambia, we have been receiving many requests from various countries asking to also be given that opportunity."
He added that the government received their requests, saying in the session that will be held one of the agendas will be to pass the decision to include Zambia and Malawi into the central corridor.
Moreover, he said that the corridor is beneficial for the country since it helps Dar port to get enough cargo and serve neighbouring countries.
The ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi's (CCM) Election Manifesto directs the government to develop transport infrastructures of all ports, since they are crucial in stimulating social economic development of the country. The Third Five-Year Development Plan 2021/22 - 2025/26 has also stressed the importance of improving the performance of the ports in the country.
Beside the improvement of Dar port, Dr Kyaharara said there are other improved ports such as Mtwara port, which featured modern equipment, saying it is an opportunity for those countries to use it. Coupled with that, he said the government continued to strengthen the great lakes and has sent two cargo ships in Lake Nyasa, which are MV Songea and MV Ruvuma with the capacity to carry 1,000 tonnes each.
Speaking on behalf of Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) Director General Plasduce Mbossa, Property Manager, Mr Alexander Ndibalema said the Kwala dry port is connected to the Meter Gauge Railway (MGR) and will also connect to the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).
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He further noted that upon completion, the dry port will have a capacity to accommodate 3,800 transit containers.
"The completion of the Kwala will help to reduce congestion at the Dar Port by 30 per cent and increase government revenue through the cargo served at the port," he emphasised.
He said: "The government has allocated areas for handling cargo passing through the Dar Port, where 20 hectares have been set for DRC and Zambia while 10 hectares for Burundi, Rwanda, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Uganda and South Sudan each."
He added that the operations of Kwala Port will help to reduce congestion at the Dar Port because it will store on-transit cargo to neighbouring countries of Burundi, Rwanda, DR Congo, Uganda, Zambia and Malawi.
