What you should know about DP World deal

DESPITE the fact that Tanzania has established economic and social cooperation with Dubai to develop Dar es Salaam Port, the agreement will not include six areas, says Minister for Works and Transport Professor Makame Mbarawa.

Prof Mbarawa clarified this at a meeting with editors from various media in the country in Dar es Salaam on Friday which aimed at shading on various issues regarding the agreement entered between the two parts.

In his clarification, the Minister insists Tanga, Mtwara and Bagamoyo ports are not involved in the DP World deal as he dismisses all arguments purported that all ports in the country are part of the agreement.

He further says Dar es Salaam Port’s berth 8 to 11, Kurasini oil Jetty (KOJ) 1 and 2 and oil storage facility is not part of the deal as the State considers other investors interested to invest in the said areas.

In June 20, 2023 the parliament agreed to the resolution to ratify the agreement between the Tanzanian government and that of Dubai to establish economic and social cooperation in the development of port areas in the country.

Elaborating, the Works Minister says the government agreed with DP World to boost operations.

He said before reaching into the conclusion, the Minister said seven international companies were studied before picking DP World for the deal.

Additionally, Prof Mbarawa says that the government’s intention is to make Dar es Salaam Port as one of the most competitive facilities in the world.

According to the minister, the DP World agreement will reduce the time of ships docking from five days to only 24 hours which will allow more ships to enter the port from 1,569 ships in 2021/2022 to 1,950 in 2032.

He said another advantage is that it will reduce the cost of transporting cargos from outside the country to neighboring countries such as Malawi, Zambia and DRC from 12,000 USD to 6,000 US Dollars.