Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (TICTS) plans to invest at least 30bn/- this year for facility expansion including buying two new key cranes to cope with increasing cargo at the port of Dar es Salaam.
Ticts Chief Executive Officer, Paul Wallace said on Thursday that the two cranes and participation in the port infrastructure improvement were part of the firm’s long term investment plans in the country.
“The main challenge we see is the increasing number of containers (TEUs) and to cope with the changing business environment, we are working hard to continue investing in the infrastructure,” said Mr Wallace.
He said the facility was currently handling around 500,000 TEUs per year and the number has been growing at 10 per cent every year.
The company which is owned by Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) by 55 per cent handles 75 per cent of Tanzania’s imports and exports.
Mr Wallace who has only six months in Tanzania as the company’s CEO said they would invest between US$300 million and US$400 million in the next five years to tap the potential to be brought by investments to the central corridor of transport that also aim at upgrading of the central railway and construction of a new railway line to standard gauge.
“Tanzania should look at how to connect the landlocked countries with proper infrastructure system. That is very important because these countries bring in good revenue to the country,” he said.
Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) lead other landlocked neighbouring countries in using the Dar es Salaam port but large share of the cargo are transported through roads.
Tanzania port handled 14 million metric tonnes of cargo in 2014 and the target is to reach 18 million tonnes by the end of 2015.
The World Bank, Trademark East Africa and other partners pledged last year that they will give the port authority US$565 million for expansion projects. The port authority plans to dredge berths 1 - 7.
Ticts Chief Executive Officer, Paul Wallace said on Thursday that the two cranes and participation in the port infrastructure improvement were part of the firm’s long term investment plans in the country.
“The main challenge we see is the increasing number of containers (TEUs) and to cope with the changing business environment, we are working hard to continue investing in the infrastructure,” said Mr Wallace.
He said the facility was currently handling around 500,000 TEUs per year and the number has been growing at 10 per cent every year.
The company which is owned by Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) by 55 per cent handles 75 per cent of Tanzania’s imports and exports.
Mr Wallace who has only six months in Tanzania as the company’s CEO said they would invest between US$300 million and US$400 million in the next five years to tap the potential to be brought by investments to the central corridor of transport that also aim at upgrading of the central railway and construction of a new railway line to standard gauge.
“Tanzania should look at how to connect the landlocked countries with proper infrastructure system. That is very important because these countries bring in good revenue to the country,” he said.
Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) lead other landlocked neighbouring countries in using the Dar es Salaam port but large share of the cargo are transported through roads.
Tanzania port handled 14 million metric tonnes of cargo in 2014 and the target is to reach 18 million tonnes by the end of 2015.
The World Bank, Trademark East Africa and other partners pledged last year that they will give the port authority US$565 million for expansion projects. The port authority plans to dredge berths 1 - 7.
Source, Daily News, reported from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
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