TPA plans four-line cargo railway
DAR ES SALAAM: THE Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) is working with the Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) on plans to build a four-line railway that will move cargo from Dar es Salaam Port to logistics hub outside the city, easing congestion and improving cargo movement to the regions and neighbouring countries.
TPA Director General, Mr Plasduce Mbossa unveiled the proposal yesterday during a visit by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Infrastructure to inspect the Tank Farm project in Kigamboni and other port projects, saying the plan is being driven by a sharp rise in container traffic.
“We are looking at having four railway lines to take cargo from this area through the city to outside the city, where we will have a large facility. From there, journeys to the regions and neighbouring countries will begin,” Mr Mbossa said.
He said container traffic at the port has grown from about 700,000 to 1.3 million containers over the past three years, making faster cargo evacuation increasingly necessary.
Mr Mbossa said relocating an Inland Container Depot (ICD) outside the city alone would not solve congestion because the growing cargo volumes would still have to pass through Dar es Salaam by road.
To address this, TPA is studying railway routes through Kigamboni, Kongowe and Vikindu, alongside plans for a dedicated six-lane cargo road, with three lanes in each direction, to improve truck movement and reduce pressure on existing roads.
The transport strategy is being complemented by a container facility at EPZA, which TPA is developing with DP World and East Africa Container Terminal as an extension of the port yard.
“The project is being implemented in phases, with the first phase 74 per cent complete and expected to provide capacity for about 700,000 containers annually,” he said.
The facility will allow cargo discharged from ships to be transferred there for collection by ICD operators and customers, while some cargo will also be received there before entering the port. He said separating ship-side operations from land-based cargo handling will reduce the number of trucks entering the port simultaneously and ease pressure on limited port space.
The facility will also have a direct railway connection after TRC agreed to provide land for the infrastructure and link it to both the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and Metre Gauge Railway (MGR).
TPA also plans to relocate cargo scanners from the main port to the new facility, allowing containers to be scanned there and helping reduce bottlenecks caused by limited space.
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Infrastructure Chairperson, Mr Seleman Kakoso directed TPA and other institutions to strengthen rail and road infrastructure to improve cargo evacuation and reduce congestion.
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“We need to use rail more. Cargo transported by rail will reduce congestion more than cargo that depends on trucks,” Mr Kakoso said.
He directed TPA to work with TRC and TAZARA to strengthen railway cargo transport, while TANROADS should support dedicated cargo roads.
He also urged greater use of Kwala Dry Port and stronger operations at dry ports in Morogoro and Dodoma to enable more cargo to move through SGR and MGR instead of relying heavily on trucks through Dar es Salaam.
Mr Kakoso also directed the government and TPA to speed up arrangements to relocate Police facilities occupying land earmarked for cargo-handling expansion, saying the existing space is already under pressure from rising cargo volumes.
He further urged timely completion of the Tank Farm project, which is expected to cut fuel unloading time from up to seven days to about one day and eliminate demurrage costs of up to 25,000 US dollars per vessel per day.
