Construction of a second container terminal for the port of Dar es Salaam is set to begin early in 2011, according to news reports in Tanzania.
Dar es Salaam’s Daily News quoted Tanzania Ports Authority Director-General Ephraim Mgawe as saying that cargo volumes have increased at a rate of 15 percent per annum for several years whereas the available space at the port’s container terminal has not.
Mgawe said that having a second terminal at the port would provide customers, particularly those from neighbouring countries, with the confidence to choose Dar es Salaam as the port of choice.
“We have managed to lower the number of days of unloading ships from between 19 and 22 to between 11 and 12 days. This is a great achievement so far reached at the port,” Mgawe said. He added that by having the new USD 450 million container terminal erected at the Kurasini area, the port may further lower the days required to unload ships to five days only.
Tanzania Ports Authority has indicated that in order to avoid the controversies that arose with the Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (TICTS), a different operator would be appointed for the new terminal. The terminal would have the capacity to handle twice as much as Dar es Salaam’s present terminal, which has a capacity of between 250,000 and 310,000 TEUs.
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Source: ports, July 1, 2010;