Tanga Port to acquire new equipment for better work

Tanga. The Tanga Port is expected to new equipment to increase in the volume of cargo handling.

The equipment will be acquired before the end of next month, according to port master Henry Alika.

Tanga City has leapt to prominence with the recent announcement of the $4 billion (about Sh8.8 trillion on the prevailing exchange rate) Uganda-Tanzania oil pipeline project and the proposed Rwanda-Tanzania railway.

The two projects have generated a lot of interest in the business community.

The equipment to be acquired include one patrol boat, a one 90-tonne Terrain mobile crane, four navigational buoys and one towing tug. It will also acquire two wheel loaders, two 35-tonne mobile cranes and one pilot boat.

Mr Alika said the port handled 805,056 tonnes of cargo in the 2014/2015 financial year.

“The port expects to handle 1,096,000 tonnes of cargo, which would be an increase of 290,944 tonnes compared with last financial year’s. This is 156 per cent of its handling capacity of 700,000 tonnes per year,” he said.

However, he said the closure of factories in Tanga and a decline in export of sisal have had a negative impact on the port’s performance.

The local economy was based mainly on the production of sisal. The crop was introduced in the late 19th century by Germans.

Tanga residents are, however, optimistic that the reopening of the railway line could increase cargo transport, leading to an improvement of the port’s performance.

They hope the situation will stimulate economic activities and subsequently increase incomes.