How Sh48 billion contract will boost Tanganyika, Victoria transport

Mwanza. The iconic MV Liemba will be far better than it is today, as companies contracted to conduct thorough repairs on it have pledged to complete the task within the specified time.

 MV Liemba on Lake Tanganyika, along with a rescue vessel, MT Ukerewe and MT Nyangumi (which carries petroleum products) on Lake Victoria, will undergo thorough repairs in a deal valued at a total of Sh48 billion.

The Dar es Salaam Merchant Group (DMG) will work with Croatia-based M/S Brodosplit JSC to repair the ships and complete the assignment within 24 months.

MV Liemba is a century-old relic of World War I that became the stuff of Hollywood legend, but one that still ferries passengers and cargo in Lake Tanganyika.

Once a feared gunship defending the African lake for Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, the legendary vessel, which inspired the 1951 classic “The African Queen” has been sunk, refloated twice, renamed, and repurposed as a ferry.

With over 100 years in service, the MV Liemba, originally a symbol of colonial power, remains an essential lifeline for the people who live along the lakeshore.

In May this year, the then Works and Transport minister (who now remains only with the Transport docket), Prof Makame Mbarawa, told the Parliament that the government, through the Marine Services Company Limited (MSCL), would spend Sh100 billion on several development projects during the financial year 2023/24, including the rehabilitation of MV Liemba, MT Ukerewe and MT Nyangumi.

And contracts for the job were signed here on Friday last week between officials from the two companies on one side and MSCL on the other, witnessed by the Deputy Minister for Transport, Mr David Kihenzile.

The managing director for DMG, Mr Rayton Kwembe, told a section of journalists shortly after the contract signing ceremony that the assignment would be completed within the specified time.

He said out of the Sh48 billion, Sh32 billion will be spent on MV. Liemba, while MT Ukerewe and MT Nyangumi will consume Sh6 billion and Sh8 billion, respectively.

The remaining amount caters to other contractual factors, including exchange rate volatility.

“DMG is very thankful to the sixth-phase government, under President Samia Suluhu Hassan, for continuing to believe in our company and we promise that we will never let them down in the implementation of these projects,” he said.

DMG, he said, was well experienced in such ship repair works as hull, machinery repairs, and modifications/conversions.

“We will do our best to ensure that these repair projects are carried out promptly so that these ships can continue to open many employment opportunities and reduce transportation costs in parallel with increasing productivity in business activities, thus benefiting Tanzanians,” he said.

The company, he said, aspires to transform the marine sector by integrating shipbuilding and fishing, banking on its in-house experts in both sectors (shipbuilding and fishing).

According to MSCL CEO Eric Hamissi, the government has decided to invest in the repair of the ships due to their durability and to save on the cost of building new ones.

“There are people who used to ask me why the government is repairing this ship now, but the cost of making a new ship like this one is more than Sh120 billion. Also, after the experts examined the existing ships that we are repairing, they found that their steel is still of great quality; that’s why the government is opting to renovate them,” Mr Hamissi said.