Tanzania opens alternative route
Jun 29, 2009
THE Tanzania Ports Authority has announced the opening of an alternative route to the sea through Dar es Salaam for goods from and to Uganda and the rest of the region.
By Anne Mugisa
THE Tanzania Ports Authority has announced the opening of an alternative route to the sea through Dar es Salaam for goods from and to Uganda and the rest of the region.
At a press conference in Kampala yesterday, the port officials said they would discuss the issue of taxes with the Uganda Revenue Authority.
The new route, called the central corridor, consists of a rail, lake and road network.
“Cargo will be delivered to Kampala from Dar es Salaam through Morogoro, Dodoma, Manyoni, Singida, Nzega, Kahama, Biharamulo, Muleba, Bukoba, Mutukula and Masaka,†said Flavian Kinunda, the marketing director of the Tanzania Ports Authority.
Kinunda, who led the Tanzanian delegation, said Uganda was for them a very important market and transit route.
He said they had the capacity to handle the Ugandan cargo traffic to the coast, currently standing at four million tonnes, which was hitherto primarily going through Mombasa.
Dar es Salaam Port, that has a capacity of 11 million tonnes, is handling only seven million, he explained, adding that they were planning to increase the port’s capacity.
“We are here to strengthen our efforts in the Ugandan market. We closed the route some time back because of problems. We want to come back to recapture the market.â€
Kinunda said there was a misconception that the Tanzanian route was more expensive than the Mombasa one. Besides distance, the issue of import taxes also needs to be taken into consideration, he noted.
He said import taxes are based on the cost, insurance and freight value but the issue was negotiable with URA.
Ugandan businesses suffered last year when transport was disrupted during the post-election violence in Kenya. Ugandan transporters, who tried to pass through the mayhem, were beaten up and their trucks burnt. The disruption led to acute fuel shortages in Uganda and other land-locked countries in the region.
Imports and exports were blocked again earlier this year when youth in Kibera slum uprooted the railway line in protest over what they called Uganda’s continued occupation of Migingo Island in Lake Victoria.
But Kinunda said the Tanzania Port Authority was not competing with Mombasa for the Ugandan market. Instead, he stressed, Dar es Salaam should be regarded as a second route to the coast.
He said they were also liaising with the Ugandan and Tanzanian governments for the construction of a railway line from Arusha to Musoma. The route, he said, would open up Tanga port for goods to Uganda and Southern Sudan.
The opening of alternative routes will speed up the delivery of goods to Uganda, which had been suffering from bureaucratic delays and manpower shortages at Mombasa port. It will also bring down the cost of doing business in Uganda as competition will set in.
THE Tanzania Ports Authority has announced the opening of an alternative route to the sea through Dar es Salaam for goods from and to Uganda and the rest of the region.
At a press conference in Kampala yesterday, the port officials said they would discuss the issue of taxes with the Uganda Revenue Authority.
The new route, called the central corridor, consists of a rail, lake and road network.
“Cargo will be delivered to Kampala from Dar es Salaam through Morogoro, Dodoma, Manyoni, Singida, Nzega, Kahama, Biharamulo, Muleba, Bukoba, Mutukula and Masaka,†said Flavian Kinunda, the marketing director of the Tanzania Ports Authority.
Kinunda, who led the Tanzanian delegation, said Uganda was for them a very important market and transit route.
He said they had the capacity to handle the Ugandan cargo traffic to the coast, currently standing at four million tonnes, which was hitherto primarily going through Mombasa.
Dar es Salaam Port, that has a capacity of 11 million tonnes, is handling only seven million, he explained, adding that they were planning to increase the port’s capacity.
“We are here to strengthen our efforts in the Ugandan market. We closed the route some time back because of problems. We want to come back to recapture the market.â€
Kinunda said there was a misconception that the Tanzanian route was more expensive than the Mombasa one. Besides distance, the issue of import taxes also needs to be taken into consideration, he noted.
He said import taxes are based on the cost, insurance and freight value but the issue was negotiable with URA.
Ugandan businesses suffered last year when transport was disrupted during the post-election violence in Kenya. Ugandan transporters, who tried to pass through the mayhem, were beaten up and their trucks burnt. The disruption led to acute fuel shortages in Uganda and other land-locked countries in the region.
Imports and exports were blocked again earlier this year when youth in Kibera slum uprooted the railway line in protest over what they called Uganda’s continued occupation of Migingo Island in Lake Victoria.
But Kinunda said the Tanzania Port Authority was not competing with Mombasa for the Ugandan market. Instead, he stressed, Dar es Salaam should be regarded as a second route to the coast.
He said they were also liaising with the Ugandan and Tanzanian governments for the construction of a railway line from Arusha to Musoma. The route, he said, would open up Tanga port for goods to Uganda and Southern Sudan.
The opening of alternative routes will speed up the delivery of goods to Uganda, which had been suffering from bureaucratic delays and manpower shortages at Mombasa port. It will also bring down the cost of doing business in Uganda as competition will set in.