Tanga Port upgrading reaches 83pc
THE renovation and upgrading of Tanga port has reached 83 per cent and is expected to be completed in April next year.
The Port Manager Mr Masoud Mrisha made the revelation here on Thursday noting that the improvement of the port aims at increasing efficiency.
“The work is set to be completed and handed over on April 4, 2023,” he said.
The upgrading and renovation of the port at the 429.1bn/- involved the expansion of two quays and deepening of berth depths.
The work according to Mr Mrisha started in 2019 and was due to be implemented in two phases.
He said the first phase has been completed. The implementation of the first phases at 172.3bn/ involved the dredging for the entrance channel and turning basin.
On the other hand, Mr Mrisha said the implementation of the second phase of the project involved improvement of 450 metre long berths at the port.
According to Mr Mrisha, the plan was to improve the berth to a 13 metre depth from the current three metre. He said implementation of the second phase is scheduled to be accomplished in April 2023.
The improvement work at the port is set to enable the port to handle 3,000,000 tonnes of cargo from the current 750,000.
The port will start handling larger vessels; relieve congestion in the port of Dar es Salaam while reducing the period of transport to the northern circuit.
On the other hand, Mr Mrisha said the improvement will help to reduce the cost of doing business for customers from regions and neighbouring countries.
In November this year, Vice President Dr Philip Mpango directed Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) to ensure that major improvement projects at the Tanga Port are completed by April 2023, so that it starts working efficiently and allow large ships to anchor.
The VP issued the directives during his visit to inspect the progress of the construction of two port quays as well as the deepening of their depths from 3 to 13 metres at the Tanga Port.
“We want to see the construction work completed by April next year. This is one of the strategic ports and when completed will be able to attract more port users in the East African region,” said Dr Mpango.
