Container flow at Tanzania's Port of Dar es Salaam is expected to improve following the designation of three inland container depots (ICD) to decongest the harbour, reported East African Business Week.
The government has given the go-ahead to Tanzania Road Haulage (TRH), Container Logistics and MOFED (T) Limited to run inland depots to relieve pressure on the Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (TICTS) facilities, where congestion is causing cargo diversion to the rival Port of Mombasa in Kenya.
Dar's containers will now be moved to inland depots where they will clear customs. "The course of action is necessary to help the terminal cope," said Israel Sekirasa, chief of the state's Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (Sumatra).
The ICDs can store up to 400,000 containers. Mombasa and Dar compete for hinterland cargo, but the increase of neighbouring countries' trade, plus freight generated domestically, is hampering Tanzanian and Kenyan plans to be congestion-free year round, the newspaper said.
The ports have an overall handling capacity of over 20 million tons a year and serve as gateways to Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), southern Sudan and Ethiopia.
Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA)'s director general Ephraem Mgawe has said Dar's congestion was a result of growing container volumes in the world. He plans to build new modern ports at Tanga, Bagamoyo and Mtwara, where land has been acquired for US$12.5 million.
The government has given the go-ahead to Tanzania Road Haulage (TRH), Container Logistics and MOFED (T) Limited to run inland depots to relieve pressure on the Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (TICTS) facilities, where congestion is causing cargo diversion to the rival Port of Mombasa in Kenya.
Dar's containers will now be moved to inland depots where they will clear customs. "The course of action is necessary to help the terminal cope," said Israel Sekirasa, chief of the state's Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (Sumatra).
The ICDs can store up to 400,000 containers. Mombasa and Dar compete for hinterland cargo, but the increase of neighbouring countries' trade, plus freight generated domestically, is hampering Tanzanian and Kenyan plans to be congestion-free year round, the newspaper said.
The ports have an overall handling capacity of over 20 million tons a year and serve as gateways to Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), southern Sudan and Ethiopia.
Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA)'s director general Ephraem Mgawe has said Dar's congestion was a result of growing container volumes in the world. He plans to build new modern ports at Tanga, Bagamoyo and Mtwara, where land has been acquired for US$12.5 million.