Dar Es Salaam port’s annual cargo traffic growth now stands at 14, the Acting Director General of the Tanzania Ports Authority, Mr Awadhi Massawe, says.

He told editors of Tanzania media houses on a familiarisation tour of the Dar es Salaam Port that major infrastructural improvement and good working relations with port users were behind steady cargo traffic growth at the port.

“The traffic growth is steady and encouraging,” he told the editors, adding: “all of these can be translated into two cardinal service delivery tenets: good working relations and understanding what the stakeholders want.”

Mr Massawe said major reforms and infrastructural development projects that have been executed in recent years sought to enhance the port’s performance, telling editors that 40 per cent of the government revenue comes from ports.

It was only pertinent and rational that editors and port authorities work together to ensure ports work efficiently for the good of the nation, the acting director general said appealing to editors: “let’s work together to ensure ports have a good image and perform well so that they generate requisite revenue for the welfare of Tanzanians.”

On behalf of the editors the chairman of Tanzania Editors’ Forum (TEF), Mr Absalom Kibanda who is also the Chief Managing Editor of New Habari Corporation, appreciated reforms and improvements at the port.

He also said TPA and the government should focus on improving railway transport because, it was the cheapest and probably the quickest haulage system if it worked well.

“With efficient TRL or TAZARA cargo trains the flow of cargo from Dar es Salaam port will be steady and economical,” he said, noting that without reliable railway transport all efforts by TPA would be meaningless.

Source: Hellenic Shipping News

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