IN the current fiscal year’s national budget, the Government has allocated 500bn/- for ports’ projects.

Out of the total amount, 210bn/- was meant for purchasing new equipment.

During her recent tour to the Dar es Salaam Port, President Samia Suluhu Hassan also promised to add 290bn/- more for purchasing more new equipment.

The government’s move is the continuation of its efforts in line with ongoing projects in different country’s ports to increase their capacity.

At the Dar es Salaam Port, for instance, the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) is implementing the Dar es Salaam Maritime Gateway Programme (DMGP).

This is the major project that aims at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the port and supporting the economic development of the country and the land-linked countries.

While expansion projects and purchasing of modern equipment are ongoing, the government has also been eager to attract businesses and investment which in turn   increases imports and exports through the country’s ports.

Since President Samia took over the country’s administration, attracting businesses and investment is among her top priorities.

Her leadership has been described as opened new chapter    in business and investment with analysts saying they should praise her for setting a new record.

“The fear to invest in the country is almost gone and we have seen various investors visiting her at the State House for guidance and way forward.

“This shows the President continues to build investor confidence,” an economist-cum-investment banker, Dr Hildebrand Shayo, said when commented on 100 days of President Samia in power.

TPA’s Director General Eric Hamissi said deliberate efforts are being made by the government to invest in port handling equipment, to increase efficiency and effectiveness at ports.

Mr Hamissi said in the past few months the Dar es Salaam Port has been blessed with many vessels coming to Tanzania.

“The arrival of mega cargo ships has resulted in increase of consignments imported into the country, thanks to efforts being made by the sixth phase government to lure businesses and investment,” he stated.

The DG said TPA is well organized to up its operational capacity in order to handle the increasing number of vessels and cargo.

This includes being able to  serve the vessels for a short time possible with more efforts focusing on making the ports under the TPA  the  first choice of transporters of goods within and neighbouring countries.

“This also calls for high performance among the staff of the authority,” he said.

Recently, Mr Hamissi spoke with the workers through their association, Dock Workers’ Union of Tanzania (DOWUTA), over their role in making the ports meet targets.

At the meeting held at the Dar es Salaam Port, he directed all TPA staff to work diligently and efficiently while embracing patriotism so that they fulfill their duties with high standards.

In his message to the employees, he appreciated the sixth-phase government for doing major investment on ports, including developing projects initiated by the previous governments.

Mr Hamissi also used the platform to inform the employees over development of various projects for improving capacity of the TPA’s ports countrywide.

Speaking over the DMGP, which is implemented at a cost of 421 million US dollars, Mr Hamissi said that the authority’s management will effectively supervise implementation of the project so that it is completed in time and by considering actual value of the investment.

The project is carried out with funds from three sources, including the loan of 345 million US dollars from the World Bank, 12 million US dollars grant from the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) and domestic revenues totaling 64 million US dollars.

Upon completion of the project in 2024 it would enable the Dar es Salaam Port handle 25 million tonnes of cargo from the current capacity of handling 16 million tonnes annually.

The port will also be able to serve big vessels with length of up to 303 meters which can carry 8,000 containers.

That will position the port be among ports with capacity and high efficiency in the East African coastline.

While highlighting statistics that show big achievements of the TPA during the last six months, the DG Hamissi trashed misleading reports circulated by some crooked individuals linked claims of TPA’s downward revenues collection trend.

“The TPA is on the right track and its performance is satisfactory” he assured.

To make it clearer, he said, by December 31, 2021, the authority had served 2,325 ships, which is 62.8 per cent of the annual target of serving 3,704 vessels.

On the part of imported vehicles, the TPA managed to handle 101,692 vehicles by the corresponding period, which is 101.7 per cent of the target of handling 100,000 cars for the half of year of 2021/22 financial year.

On the other hand, the bulk cargo handled at the ports has also increased whereby by December 31, 2021, the TPA handled 9.85 million tonnes of different consignments, equivalent to 107.7 per cent of the targeted 9.19 million tonnes for the half year. The annual target is 18.2 million tonnes.

Furthermore, the number of containers handled by that period was 383,978, which is 97.3 per cent of the target of handling 394,662.

On revenues, he said in just six months of the year, the TPA managed to collect over 500bn/-, which implies that the authority will definitely meet and if possible exceed its annual target of earning 1.1tri/-

Earlier Director of the Dar es Salaam Port, Eng Juma Kijavara said staff of the port are well prepared to work hard in order to ensure that the port continues becoming top in bringing in revenues and making the TPA realize its annual target of collecting 1.1tri/- during the 2021/22 financial year.

He emphasized on being honest at workplace and promised to provide incentives to workers at all departments who would perform excellently and exceed the targets set for handling increased cargo at the port.

On his part, national chairperson of the DOWUTA, Mr Mwalami Manyara said the association commends the government and President Samia for her real intent of improving port services in the country.

“In just a short period, the President has made important decisions meant to up efficiency at this port by installing new management and issued directives for improving performance, endorsed 210bn/- for purchase of modern equipment and provided guidance for ensuring that all ports operate efficiently in a whole year,” he stated.

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