Dar port cargo grows by 21 percent as performance improves

Dar es Salaam. Cargo handled through the Dar es Salaam port grew by 21.3 percent in the last four years, the new Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) data seen by The Citizen shows.

Going by the data, the Dar port handled 17 million metric tonnes (MT) last year, up from 14 million tonnes recorded in 2017, thanks to expanded capacity, marketing drive, recovery from Covid-19 and an enabling business environment.

However, port stakeholders told The Citizen yesterday that there was huge potential to do even better and reach the target of 30 million tonnes by 2030.

“We have a bigger market than our capacity to handle them and that is why we are taking a number of initiatives to attract new customers and retain the existing ones,” TPA director general Plasduce Mbossa said in an exclusive interview with this paper a few days ago.

He said the authority was doing all in its power to increase the efficiency of the multimodal system of transportation.

Multimodal transportation, which refers to logistics and freight processes that require multiple modes of transportation like rail carriers, air cargo freight, as well as a truck carrier, is cost and time effective.

DR Congo is the largest customer of the Dar Port, attracting almost three million tonnes of transit cargo, followed by Zambia at 2 million tonnes and Rwanda at about 1.5 million tonnes.

Dar es Salaam and Mombasa, the largest ports in East Africa, are in a race to attract more sea bound cargo and imports into the region.

In an effort to grab DR Congo from Tanzania, reports have it that Kenya has recently provided Congo with a number of incentives including removal of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs), cutting cargo storage costs and issuing of an area for the construction of dry port.

But in a swift rejoinder, TPA’s Mbossa told The Citizen that the authority was doing a lot to attract not only DR Congo, but also other customers.

TPA, he said, recently cut down Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) on the road from the past nine to the current three.

Again, he said, they were providing a grace period before starting charging demurrage charges.

“In a bid to improve our services even further, we have opened our office in DR Congo,” said Mr Mbossa.

Tanzania Freight Forwarders Association (Taffa) president Edward Urio attributed the Dar port’s handsome performance to the involvement of port stakeholders in port efficiency, innovation and strategic plans.

Port stakeholders, he said, were being engaged through the Port Improvement Committee chaired by the transport permanent secretary in the ministry of Works and Transport, Mr Gabriel Migire.

Mr Urio also linked the good performance to engaging private Inland Container Depots (ICDs) by allowing shippers to have an option of nominating where their cargo might go.

During the fifth phase regime, he said, ICDs were restricted to be given cargo until the Dar port was occupied by 65 percent.

Later on, the sixth phase government came in and changed the narrative by cutting the percentage to 50 percent, before it decided to provide a freedom for shippers to nominate where their cargo might go.

“This has increased efficiency in cargo loading and offloading. We need to increase our efficiency even further and this is what our customers are looking for,” asserted Mr Urio.

Tanzania Shippers Council executive secretary Sallu Johnson said: “while I fully agree on maintaining a higher port productivity, we should as well strengthen the use of Tazara (Tanzania- Zambia Railway Authority) comparatively.”

By any magnitude, said Mr Johnson, South DRC (Lubumbashi cargo) due to economies of scale, refers to the use of Dar Port.

The North East DRC on the other hand, he added, stands to be shared (cargo split) between Central Corridor and Northern Corridor.

“To enjoy this market will depend on how smart our strategies will compete accordingly,” recounted Mr Johnson.

However, Tazara managing director Mr Bruno Ching’andu said the line is moving around 500,000 tonnes which is equivalent to 40 percent of its capacity.

Tanzania Shipping Agents Association (Tasaa) chairman John Massawe said Tanzania was not yet to exploit a huge available potential.

Tanzania is surrounded by eight countries and all of them, he said, are growing in terms of cargo volume.

“The Dar port capacity is almost exhausted. We need to increase its capacity by increasing berth capacity and equipment,” recommended Mr Massawe.

“This will help our port to have the capacity to handle more vessels at ago, and thus make our port to do even better.”