Tanzania Looks To Egypt For Port Investments
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Tanzania’s Transport Minister Makame Mbarawa invited Egyptian investors to participate in port projects at a meeting to strengthen cooperation in the transport sector in Dar Es Salaam on 19 February.
The main scheme proposed to delegates involves the construction of additional berths at the Port of Dar Es Salaam on the Indian Ocean coast. The port handles about 95% of Tanzania’s international trade.
“We are inviting [Egyptian investors] to cooperate in constructing berths 13, 14 and 15,” Mbarawa said. “Without constructing new berths, we cannot address the congestion.”
The minister noted the Tanzanian government has already made major improvements at the port through the US$421 million Dar Es Salaam Maritime Gateway Project (DMGP), which was launched in 2017 and financed by the World Bank and other partners. The scheme included the construction of a new roll-on, roll-off terminal, which began operations in 2021, as well as deepening the existing berths, improving rail linkages and constructing a cargo rail terminal. The project is due for completion by June.
Dar Es Salaam port is set to receive an investment injection from the UAE’s DP World, which signed a 30-year concession agreement in October 2023 to operate and modernise the port. DP World will initially invest about US$250 million, which could increase to US$1 billion during the concession period through hinterland logistics projects.
Minister Mbarawa also invited the Egyptian investors to consider other port schemes in Tanzania such as the development of Bagamoyo port in the Pwani region, construction of an oil jetty at Tanga port on the country’s northern coast, the development of a dry cargo terminal at Mtwara port in the south and the development of dry ports in Dodoma, Kigoma, Mwanza, Dar Es Salaam and the Pwani region.
Tanzania ports and transport corridorsSource: Tanzania Updated National Ports Masterplan, 2022“We have several projects to develop dry ports in different regions due to the [ongoing] construction of the standard gauge railway,” Mbarawa told the Egyptian delegation. The railway will link the Port of Dar Es Salaam to Mwanza port on Lake Victoria and cross the country to neighbouring Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
For his part, Egypt’s Transport Minister Kamal al-Wazir said strong cooperation between the Dar Es Salaam port and Egypt’s ports would enable the transportation of cargo to countries surrounding the Nile River as Tanzania is the gateway to several landlocked nations.
“Egypt is ready to do its best to strengthen relations with African countries and enhance transport networks for trade connectivity,” Al-Wazir said. “We need to build dry ports in different countries, but we should start constructing them here in Tanzania.”
Mkutano wa wadau na Wafanyabiashara kati ya Ujumbe kutoka Misri na Tanzania umefanyika leo Jijini Dar es Salaam.Mkutano huo umeandaliwa na TIC kwa kushirikia na Ubalozi wa Misri Nchini na @tpsftz kujadili fursa za UWEKEZAJI zilizopo.Takribani makapuni 50 yameshiriki mkutano huo pic.twitter.com/y1BO1UrMoP
— Tanzania Investment Centre (@InvestTanzania) February 20, 2024
Egyptian companies are already involved in several major projects in Tanzania.
Elsewedy Industrial Development is building the Egyptian Industrial City in the Pwani region. Spread across an area of 2.6 million square metres, the development will be connected to Dar Es Salaam and the nearby Kwala dry port through the Rovos railway, which links Tanzania with Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa.
Elsewedy aims to attract investments worth more than US$400 million in the city, which will host 200 factories involved in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, building materials, food and beverages, and engineering.
In November, the firm said construction of the first 500,000-square-metre phase would be completed within a year. Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan laid the foundation stone for the project in 2021.
Elsewedy was also the contractor for Tanzania’s 2,115MW Julius Nyerere hydropower plant and dam along with fellow Egyptian firm Arab Contractors Company. The US$2.9 billion megaproject on the Rufiji River in eastern Tanzania is planned to be inaugurated on 25 February.
Top photo: Egypt-Tanzania meeting (Source: X/Twitter @ Tanzania Ports Authority)
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