UPGRADE AT DAR PORT IMPRESSES WORLD BANK
Posted on : Friday, 10th July 2015
Dar es Salaam. The World Bank, which is one of the financiers for a $596 million (about Sh1.1 trillion) Dar es Salaam Port upgrade, said at the weekend that it is impressed by the ongoing improvements.
The World Bank is cooperating with the UK’s Department for International Development and TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) to inject a total of $596 million in the project of deepening and strengthening of berths 1-7, the dredging of the entrance channel and turning basin in the port.
Out of the money, the World Bank, will give Tanzania a $400 million loan to finance the port upgrade project in line with the Dar es Salaam Maritime Gateway Project (DMGP). The ultimate goal of the project is to see the Dar port handle 28 million tonnes by 2020 from 14.6 million it handled in 2013/14.
And, speaking when he toured the port of Dar es Salaam in the city at the weekend, the World Bank vice president for the Africa Region Dr Makhtar Diop, said that his institution was impressed with the ongoing improvements, saying the move will have positive impacts on the economy of Tanzania and its landlocked neighbours.
The tour was meant to acquaint him with a number of ongoing infrastructure projects that seek to improve the performance of the country’s major sea port.
“We acknowledge the importance of the ongoing improvements to the economy of Tanzania and its landlocked neighbours,” said Dr Diop who was in the company of the new World Bank country director for Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda Ms Bella Bird and her predecessor Mr Philippe Dongier
He said the World Bank was hopeful that Ms Bird will emulate Mr Dongier’s footsteps with regard to cooperating with Tanzania to improve the country’s infrastructure.
The permanent secretary in the Ministry of Transport, Dr Shaaban Mwinjaka thanked the World Bank for being one of the institutions that support infrastructure improvement at the port of Dar es Salaam, noting that ultimately, the improvements will turn the port into one of the cheapest and most competitive one in the East and Central Africa region.
He said the tour of top World Bank officials was testament to the fact that the global financial institution was determined to continue partnering with Tanzania in financing infrastructure improvement projects at the port. Dr Diop and his team toured berths one to seven and the entrance channel and turning basin in the port. According to the acting director general for Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) Mr Awadh Massawe, the World Bank is supporting a project to upgrade the entrance channel so as to allow large ships to dock at the port.
“This will involve dredging the entrance so it can be 13 metres deep from the current 9.5 metres…that way, we will be able to accommodate larger vessels,” he said.
The actual dredging task is expected to start early next year.
