Tanga Port dredging project about to start

Tanga: A feasibility study for dredging Tanga Port to increase its depth from the current 3.5 metres to 15 metres is in final stages.

That was said by Tanga harbour master Percival Salama here when briefing the minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Charles Mwijage.

He was speaking at the Tanzania Ports Authority Pavilion at the Tanga Trade Fair.

Mr Salama said that the authority had commissioned the Bureau of Industrial Cooperation (BICO) of the University of Dar es Salaam to conduct the study in four months.

He said the progress shows that the work could be completed in less than four months and there was an indication that the results would be positive.

The minister wanted to know whether TPA was preparing itself for growth of cargo due to increased industrialisation in Tanga and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) Project, that the port was implementing as President John Magufuli directed at the launch of the EACOP project at Chongoleani Village in Tanga City where a terminal would be constructed.

The expansion of the port, he said, had been necessitated by the growth in cargo traffic which had surpassed its capacity of 750,000 tonnes to 863,000 tonnes in 2015/16.

It expected to handle more than one million tonnes in 2016/17.

“Dredging of the port to increase its depth would be done to prepare ourselves for growth of cargo due to expanding business through industrialisation,” Mr Salama said.

Speaking after visiting the pavilions at the Mwahako showground, Mr Mwijage said he was happy with the TPA work, saying that this would also have an impact on the growth of the Tanga Trade Fair to an international status.