The multi-million shilling Zanzibar port rehabilitation project would be completed next month, four months ahead of the scheduled time.
Reliable sources in the Zanzibar Ministry of Communications and Transport, told this paper that the project would be handed over to the government next month.
The source said the speed of rehabilitation work at Malindi port had almost doubled since the government here and the European Union settled terms on the suitable port structure to be built.
The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar and the EU were at one time involved in a conflict on the best model of construction of the quay, the former preferring a quayside supported by concrete beams while the latter wanted one with a landing stage structure famously known as a jetty.
Under the agreement signed between the EU and the Union government on behalf of the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, the former gave a total of euros28m (about 30bn/-) as actual costs for rehabilitating the port.
According to the sources, the main rehabilitation work, undertaken by PIHL and Sons, a construction firm from Denmark, is over and now giant cargo ships are allowed to berth, load and offload without damaging the new concrete quay.
Prior to this development, all giant cargo ships were forced to offload imported containers at Mombasa port, Kenya and Dar es Salaam port and later the stuff therein were transported to Zanzibar in small quantities using dhows and small ships.
However, the sources said the ongoing rehabilitation excluded construction of the terminal yards and provision of ground handling equipment.
This means, loading and offloading process would be slow at the port.Asked for comment here yesterday, the Minister of State responsible for Communications and Transport, Machano Othman Said, confirmed completion of port rehabilitation ahead of time saying this was a step in the right direction.
He said completion of the port would help ease chocking inflation rate in the Isles because the volume of goods passing through the port would shoot up and importers would automatically stop offloading their goods at Mombasa and Dar es Salaam ports and later ship them to Zanzibar.
These are positive economic achievements for Zanzibar, stressed the minister, adding that revenue collection to be realised from the port would definitely increase.This rehabilitation work is the second time in less than 15 years.
The first major port construction project was carried out between 1989 and 1992 by Cogefar, an Italian construction firm. But the poor workmanships had compelled the second rehabilitation work.
Following the shoddy work, the Isles government won a case it had opened in the international arbitration court based in the United Kingdom against the Cogefar.
Reliable sources in the Zanzibar Ministry of Communications and Transport, told this paper that the project would be handed over to the government next month.
The source said the speed of rehabilitation work at Malindi port had almost doubled since the government here and the European Union settled terms on the suitable port structure to be built.
The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar and the EU were at one time involved in a conflict on the best model of construction of the quay, the former preferring a quayside supported by concrete beams while the latter wanted one with a landing stage structure famously known as a jetty.
Under the agreement signed between the EU and the Union government on behalf of the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, the former gave a total of euros28m (about 30bn/-) as actual costs for rehabilitating the port.
According to the sources, the main rehabilitation work, undertaken by PIHL and Sons, a construction firm from Denmark, is over and now giant cargo ships are allowed to berth, load and offload without damaging the new concrete quay.
Prior to this development, all giant cargo ships were forced to offload imported containers at Mombasa port, Kenya and Dar es Salaam port and later the stuff therein were transported to Zanzibar in small quantities using dhows and small ships.
However, the sources said the ongoing rehabilitation excluded construction of the terminal yards and provision of ground handling equipment.
This means, loading and offloading process would be slow at the port.Asked for comment here yesterday, the Minister of State responsible for Communications and Transport, Machano Othman Said, confirmed completion of port rehabilitation ahead of time saying this was a step in the right direction.
He said completion of the port would help ease chocking inflation rate in the Isles because the volume of goods passing through the port would shoot up and importers would automatically stop offloading their goods at Mombasa and Dar es Salaam ports and later ship them to Zanzibar.
These are positive economic achievements for Zanzibar, stressed the minister, adding that revenue collection to be realised from the port would definitely increase.This rehabilitation work is the second time in less than 15 years.
The first major port construction project was carried out between 1989 and 1992 by Cogefar, an Italian construction firm. But the poor workmanships had compelled the second rehabilitation work.
Following the shoddy work, the Isles government won a case it had opened in the international arbitration court based in the United Kingdom against the Cogefar.