PREPARATIONS for the construction of a mega Mbamba Bay port are on top gear after the government coughed up 70bn/- for the project, which upon completion, would hugely transform water transport on Lake Nyasa.
This was revealed by Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) Manager for Lake Nyasa ports, Mr Manga Gassaya, who expressed gratitude to President Samia Suluhu Hassan for financing the construction of what would become the largest port on Lake Nyasa.
“The sixth phase government under President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan has released 70bn/- for the con- struction of a big and modern Mbamba Bay Port,” he told the ‘Daily News’.
According to Mr Gas- saya, the project is scheduled to kick off next month and is set to be completed withn 36 months.
“Once complete, Mbamba Bay will be the largest port on Lake Nyasa, and the port’s annual cargo handling capacity will rise tremendously from the current 35,000 tonnes to 320,000 tonnes,” he added.
The construction of Mbamba Bay Port is in line with the government’s plans to open up the Mtwara Development Corridor.
The Mtwara Development Project is a major infrastructure development project involving southern Tanzania, northern Mozambique, eastern Malawi and Eastern Zambia.
The goal of this project is to provide road, rail and waterway access from the sur- rounding region to the Port of Mtwara.
A road and rail link is to be built from the port of Mtwara to Mbamba Bay on Lake Nyasa to link Malawi to the corridor and further road links into Mozambique will facilitate access to northern Mozambique.
“The major objective for the construction of Mbamba Bay Port is to unlock Mtwara Development Corridor with the target of serving cargo destined for Malawi and Zambia from Mtwara Port through Lake Nyasa.
This will help decongest the Dar es Salaam Port,” explained Mr Gassaya. Upon the completion of all port projects, it will in- crease the capacity of Lake Nyasa ports from the current 76,200 tonnes of cargo to 552,300 tonnes.
“Also, the completion of all projects will increase the passenger handling capacity from 126,000 passengers to 656,000 passengers,” he added.
“On behalf of TPA Director General, Mr Plas- duce Mbosa, I would like to convey our sincere gratitude to President Samia Suluhu Hassan for the massive refurbishment of our ports and the construction of new port im- plemented by her Sixth Phase Government,” he said.
He further commended Dr Samia for releasing funds for various port projects on time in her continued efforts to ensure Tanzania’s ports of- fer world class services.
