Mombasa port to gain as Dar closes Kampala outfit
Ugandan importers may have to use the port of Mombasa following the closure of Tanzanian port operations in Kampala.
The Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) announced the temporary closure of its Ugandan business last week due to declining business, but bulk importers who have been using the port voiced fear of losing the route to the port at Dar-es-Salaam.
The Tanzania route had provided a back-up for the more commonly used Mombasa for Ugandan importers and exporters.
The route from the port of Dar-es-Salaam via Mwanza and across Lake Victoria to Uganda, is mainly used by oil companies to bring in fuel, food aid through organisations such as the World Food Programme (WFP) and second-hand cars. Some major importers say lack of a second route severely limits their options, especially for those with concerns over the Mombasa route.
“We were in the process of resorting to the northern (Dar-es-Salaam) route again because Mombasa, through which we import our fuel, has a lot of politics,” said a source at one oil company who declined to be named.
The source said trucks that transport fuel from Mombasa could onlycarry 36,000 litres, less than the 46,000 litres per truck permitted from Dar. He said this had forced his company to acquire up to twice the number of trucks.
An official at Mukwano Industries, a large firm which had been importing crude palm oil and other products through Dar, declined to comment, saying it was too early to do so.
TPA announced closure of its operations in Uganda on June 24, citing a falling cargo volume that made it an unsustainable business.
Cargo on the route fell by 75 per cent since an oil tanker, the MV Kabalega sank in Lake Victoria during a crossing from Mwanza in May 2005.
Flavian Kirunda, TPA’s marketing director said when announcing the closure that it was temporary, although he feared the fall in volumes would continue.
TPA assigned an agent, Franklin Mziray, to temporarily handle its Ugandan business and said a tender would eventually be floated to find a suitable company to run the route on its behalf. No time frame for that tender was given.
The sinking of the Kabalega combined with several more ships’ groundings due to insurance issues has sucked 300,000 tonnes of capacity per year from the previous 400,000 tonnes that Tanzania Railways Corporation once handled on behalf of Uganda Railways Corporation.
At that time, Ugandan freight accounted for over one third of all cargo handled by the Tanzanian rail operator.
Tanzanian vessel, Umoja, is currently the only ship plying the Lake Victoria crossing.
As importers look for a solution, President Yoweri Museveni recently said the government was looking at Tanzania again to open another route through which cargo can be routed.
The third option of opening up another railway route from Musoma to Arusha and on to Tanga in Tanzania was also being considered, the Ugandan president said.
The Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) announced the temporary closure of its Ugandan business last week due to declining business, but bulk importers who have been using the port voiced fear of losing the route to the port at Dar-es-Salaam.
The Tanzania route had provided a back-up for the more commonly used Mombasa for Ugandan importers and exporters.
The route from the port of Dar-es-Salaam via Mwanza and across Lake Victoria to Uganda, is mainly used by oil companies to bring in fuel, food aid through organisations such as the World Food Programme (WFP) and second-hand cars. Some major importers say lack of a second route severely limits their options, especially for those with concerns over the Mombasa route.
“We were in the process of resorting to the northern (Dar-es-Salaam) route again because Mombasa, through which we import our fuel, has a lot of politics,” said a source at one oil company who declined to be named.
The source said trucks that transport fuel from Mombasa could onlycarry 36,000 litres, less than the 46,000 litres per truck permitted from Dar. He said this had forced his company to acquire up to twice the number of trucks.
An official at Mukwano Industries, a large firm which had been importing crude palm oil and other products through Dar, declined to comment, saying it was too early to do so.
TPA announced closure of its operations in Uganda on June 24, citing a falling cargo volume that made it an unsustainable business.
Cargo on the route fell by 75 per cent since an oil tanker, the MV Kabalega sank in Lake Victoria during a crossing from Mwanza in May 2005.
Flavian Kirunda, TPA’s marketing director said when announcing the closure that it was temporary, although he feared the fall in volumes would continue.
TPA assigned an agent, Franklin Mziray, to temporarily handle its Ugandan business and said a tender would eventually be floated to find a suitable company to run the route on its behalf. No time frame for that tender was given.
The sinking of the Kabalega combined with several more ships’ groundings due to insurance issues has sucked 300,000 tonnes of capacity per year from the previous 400,000 tonnes that Tanzania Railways Corporation once handled on behalf of Uganda Railways Corporation.
At that time, Ugandan freight accounted for over one third of all cargo handled by the Tanzanian rail operator.
Tanzanian vessel, Umoja, is currently the only ship plying the Lake Victoria crossing.
As importers look for a solution, President Yoweri Museveni recently said the government was looking at Tanzania again to open another route through which cargo can be routed.
The third option of opening up another railway route from Musoma to Arusha and on to Tanga in Tanzania was also being considered, the Ugandan president said.