Tanzania on the road greatness

With the second largest economy in Africa and a strong commitment to improving its investment climate, Tanzania is well set to become a powerhouse in Africa. Some of the commitments made by the current dispensation included redrawing tax codes, floating the exchange rate, licensing foreign banks, and creating an investment promotion centre to cut red tape.

However, possibly one of the biggest commitments is the $154 million improvement project at the Dar es Salaam Port, that will see improvements in the physical infrastructure of the port and institutional strengthening and implementation assistance.

The port accounts for 90% of Tanzania’s trade and also services Malawi, Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and the eastern part of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In 2014, the World Bank found that inefficiencies at the port was costing Tanzania and her neighbours $2.8 billion every year.

Aimed at doubling the port’s current capacity, the project involves installing a new multi-purpose berth at Gerezani Creek, dredging of the port’s entrance channel, and intermodal improvements to both rail and road links. This will translate into 28 million tonnes of import and export going through the port by 2020, while berth waiting times will be reduce from 80 hours to 30 hours.

A huge growth indicator for Tanzania, the Dar es Salaam Maritime Gateway Project (DSMGP) is as ambitious as it is exciting, and is expected to be completed by 2023.

It’s a two phased project with the first phase being the construction of a new pier to offload roll on/roll off (ro-ro) vessels and the consolidation and upgrading of berths one to seven. This ro-ro pier means that large tonnage vessels can dock and off-load easily using their own or a platform specific vehicle.

The second phase will see the deepening of the berths from 8m to 15m.

In addition to this, the country also plans to improve its inland services with a dry dock to be built in the Kigona region. This dock, which will be located at Lake Tanganyika, will be linked to Dar es Salaam via a 2 500km long railway. It will serve the Great Lakes region, including Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, the DRC and Zambia.

These are truly exciting times for Tanzania and her people and represents some great opportunities. At Cartrack, we are looking forward to being part of this project and partnering with all the various stakeholders in providing fleet management and telematics for the workforce and equipment that will be involved.

If you’re looking for a forward-thinking vehicle tracking and administrative partner, contact us today.