TPA slashes cargo logistic charges to attract customers

The Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) has reduced various charges on cargo logistics purposely to attract more foreign and local customers using Tanzania’s sea ports.

The move aims to ensure that the ports remain at the helm of logistics in the competitive business environment.

Esaya Masanja, the Chief Research and Marketing Officer from TPA revealed this at a stakeholders’ meeting held in Dar es Salaam to gather opinions on the proposed tariff revisions submitted to the Tanzania Shipping Agencies Corporation (TASAC).

Mr Masanja said the move was prompted by the competition between the ports of Dar es Salaam and that of Mombasa, Kenya, both of which serve markets in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Malawi, Burundi and Uganda.

He stated that these changes were made in response to long-standing demands from stakeholders.

Mr Masanja specified the areas where the charges were reduced, including the telephone area, where charges were previously levied for landline calls, but now mobile phone technology has advanced.

“The 2013 charges have been in place for 10 years, and many things have changed. We have also made revisions in Malawi and Zambia, where there were certain charges that customers had to pay when transporting goods,” he said.

He expressed his optimism on the decision adding that the tariff improvements would attract more customers due to the reduced charges and position the country’s ports to be more competitive in the market, aligning with the changing business landscape.

According to him, TPA anticipated an increase in cargo volumes, as last year handled cargo was at 18 million tons at the Port of Dar es Salaam, thus they expect the volume to grow even further.

For his part, the Director-General of TASAC, Mr Kaimu Mkeyenge, said that they received tariff revision applications from TPA for port charges in both maritime and lake ports.

“We have received and conducted an initial assessment of the submitted applications and found that they meet the requirements of the tariff regulations, allowing stakeholders to air their opinions,” he said.

He emphasized that the meeting was a crucial part of the entire process of approving the submitted applications, as it provided an opportunity for port service users and the service provider, TPA, to express their opinions transparently.