Tanzania: Tanga Port to Have Ship Repair Dockyar

Upgrading of Tanga port will attract shippers to the port on the northern coast of Tanzania which boasts of its strategic geographical position to serve the northern regions of Kilimanjaro, Arusha and Manyara and neighbouring Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

Such is the great potential of the longest port in East Africa which is currently undergoing massive upgrading work to enable it accommodate more vessels.

But to make optimal utilisation of its great potential, Tanga port needs a dockyard for repairing and building of ships, says Tanga Regional Commissioner, Martine Shigella.

Currently, ships that call at Tanga port are taken to Mombasa, Kenya for maintenance, meaning exporting jobs and business that could benefit Tanzanians, said the Regional Commissioner when former Vice President, Samia Suluhu Hassan toured the port to inspect construction of a berth and installation of a flow meter last month.

The Regional Commissioner appealed to the government to invest in the construction of a modern shipyard for the port which is expected to make Tanzania a major regional fuel trading hub after completion of the upgrading work.

“There is no reason for continuing exporting jobs and business to our neigbhours while we have big enough land for the purpose. I ask the government to see the importance of making optimal use of the port area so that all the vessels that call at the port are maintained at the port,” he said.

The Minister for Works and Transport, Leonard Chamuriho said the government plans to construct a dockyard for repairing and building of ships to retain all the works at the port.

The Minister said the government continues with major upgrades of ports to improve service delivery and make Tanzania a major regional trading and logistics hub.

“We are going to build a dockyard at the port. There’s no need for ships to go outside the country for maintenance, he said.

Tanga port experienced decline of business in recent years where cargo destined for northern regions of Kilimanjaro, Arusha and Manyara were coming through Mombasa port. The upgrading and expanding the port is expected to improve the cost of doing business to northern Tanzania, by reducing the transit time to the northern circuit.

The improvement at Tanga port aims at turning the gateway into a competitive terminal, serving customers in the country, the East African region and the great Lakes region.

The improvement at Tanga port aims at turning the gateway into a competitive terminal, serving customers in the country, the East African region and the great Lakes region.

The first phase of the expansion project of Tanga port was completed last year and afterwards a 200-meter-long vessel, docked at the port in November at a refurbished terminal, making it the largest ship ever hosted at the port.

As the port is expected to start handling larger vessels, it may progressively relieve congestion at the Dar es Salaam port and reduce the period of transport to the northern circuit.
Source: Daily News