Mtwara Port

=The Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA)= The Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) is a parastatal organisation under the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, whose responsibility is “to manage and operate” Tanzania’s sea and lake ports. Established on 15th April 2005, the TPA presently owns Dar es Salaam, Tanga and Mtwara ports as well as all lake ports in Tanzania. A member of the Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa, the TPA is headquartered in Dar es Salaam.

=Mtwara Port History= The Mtwara deep water port was built between 1948 and 1954 as part of the Tanganyika groundnut scheme. The development of the port was accompanied by the construction of a railway from Mtwara to Nachingwea for conveying imported heavy equipment and groundnuts for export. The port, variously dubbed as the “Cinderella” and Peanut” port was equipped with a 1,248 feet deep water quay with 32 feet alongside depths to handle the projected large tonnages. However, the collapse of the Tanganyika groundnut scheme left the port with a substantial surplus capacity.

=Recent developments= Due to the recent major off-shore natural gas findings in Southern Tanzania, the Mtwara Port has become strategic for international oil and gas companies operating in the area as they use the port as a supply base for their drilling ships. Over the past six years, Mtwara port has registered a 23.9 percent increase in cargo annually. Indeed, total cargo increased from 204,429 tonnes in 2012/2013 to 356,000 tonnes in 2013/2014. Data from the port authority shows that 544 calls (vessels) mainly from China, Europe and Kenya arrived at the port last year, of which 459 were oil and gas cargo.

Port Upgrade
In 2013, the Tanzanian government announced that it would invest US$ 214 million in upgrading and expanding the harbour to international standards after signing an agreement with the Japanese government to conduct a preliminary survey. According to the port manager, this decision was made as a result of the gas drilling activities. The project will comprise the expansion and the improvement of infrastructure and working equipment such as cranes and tractors. Tsh2.95 billion (US$ 1.7 million) will be spent on improving the port’s infrastructure. Mtwara port currently has the capacity to handle 400,000 metric tonnes of imports and exports per annum; it is mainly designed to handle conventional cargo. This capacity is planned to be expanded to about 28 million tonnes of traffic annually. TPA has acquired 263 hectares for the expansion. Consequently, the capacity of the port will increase to berth seven ships from the current four. Moreover, 100 hectares have been acquired to construct a free port zone and some 400 hectares have been earmarked for oil and gas processing activities. Several companies placed their bids to implement the project but the final selection is still pending.

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