An order for two Ship to Shore Gantry Cranes (SSGC) with remote control option has been placed with a Chinese manufacturer by Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (TICTS) and is due for commissioning during the fourth quarter of this year.
In a letter addressed to Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) acting Director General, Madeni Kipande with copies to other port stakeholders, TICTS Chief Executive Officer and General Manager, Anacin Kum said two hybrid Rubber Tyred Gantry Cranes (RTGC) have also been ordered from China’s ZPMC of Shangai.
“The cranes are due to be delivered by 4th quarter of 2014. Once the new equipment is delivered and commissioned, TICTS will then have a total of seven SSGCs and 15 RTGCs available which can be able to serve the traffic growth in the years to come,” Mr Kum said in his letter dated January 2, 2014.
He said the investment is part of Hutchison Port Holdings commitment as per their container terminal leasing agreement which runs through 2025, to improve infrastructure at Dar es Salaam port.
“Our latest investment is to upgrade equipment at Dar port is cope with market demand well in advance,” the TICTS CEO and GM noted. Tanzania Shipping Agents Association (TASAA) Chairman, Peter Kirigini applauded TICTS latest move as commendable as Dar port experiences rapid cargo volume growth thanks to growing economies in the region.
“With better modern equipment, cargo handling at the port becomes efficient,” said Mr Kirigini. He noted that with such investments, container congestion at the country’s prime port will be history.
TICTS is part of Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH), a subsidiary of the multinational Hong Kong based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Limited (HWL) which is the world’s leading port investor, developer and operator.
Philippines-based port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) won the concession to manage and operate Tanzania’s largest container terminal port at Dar-es-Salaam in 2000.
The deal that was involved partial privatisation of Dar es Salaam port’s container terminal was expected to see ICTSI spend an estimated US$6.5 million upgrading the dilapidated terminal over the 10 year concession period.
In 2001, Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) entered into agreement with ICTSI and certain financial investors to acquire ICTSI International Holdings Corp, the overseas port development and holding subsidiary of ICTSI.
IIHC has eight port operations and investments in Mexico, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Tanzania and Thailand. These port holdings consist of 23 container and general cargo berths.
Source: Daily News, reported from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
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