TANZANIA has received US$565 million in World Bank and British loans and grants for the Port of Dar es Salaam to make it a regional hub, lifting annual capacity to 28 million tonnes from 14.6 million tonnes today.
The World Bank said inefficiencies at the port, which rivals Kenya's Port of Mombasa with its 19.1-million tonne annual throughput versus Dar's 10.1 million, costs Tanzania up to $2.6 billion a year.
Together they compete as gateways to landlocked states such as Zambia, Rwanda, Malawi, Burundi, Uganda and the eastern Congo, says Reuters.
"The Dar es Salaam port handles 90 per cent of Tanzania's trade, but delays have been worsened by limitations in operational efficiency. We believe that this will turn around the port," said Tanzanian Transport Minister Harrison Mwakyembe.
Other participants are Britain's Department for International Development (DFID) and Trade Mark East Africa, a Nairobi-based NGO financed by the governments of Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden and the UK.
"Future growth of the economy depends on the port's ability to improve, to become more efficient and to be able to handle more trade," said DFID country manager Ros Cooper.
Dar handles 60 per cent of Tanzania's GDP in 2012. Tanzania has been growing at seven per cent a year, but analysts say poor infrastructure is a bottleneck.
PORTS
17 September 2014 - 00:39
Port of Dar es Salaam wins US$565 million in World Bank, UK loans and grants
TANZANIA has received US$565 million in World Bank and British loans and grants for the Port of Dar es Salaam to make it a regional hub, lifting annual capacity to 28 million tonnes from 14.6 million tonnes today.
PORTS
17 September 2014 - 00:39
Port of Dar es Salaam wins US$565 million in World Bank, UK loans and grants
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