DP World wins bid to run part of key Tanzanian Port for 30 years
Fresh investment from DP World is expected to help reduce congestion and slash the average stay for a vessel in Dar es Salaam to 24 hours from five days, and speed up clearing times to 60 minutes from 12 hours,
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DP World Ltd. won a bid to operate part of Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam port and will invest more than $250 million to upgrade the facilities.
Investment may increase to $1 billion during the concession period, according to a statement on DP World’s website. The deal expands the Dubai-based company’s reach across East Africa, where it already has interests from Somalia to Mozambique.
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Tanzania announced in June it was in talks with DP World to manage some of the port’s facilities. President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who is fast-tracking several large projects including a liquefied natural gas terminal, wants DP World to triple revenue from the facility to 26.7 trillion shillings ($10.7 billion) over the next decade from 7.76 trillion shillings in 2021-22, Works and Transport Minister Makame Mbarawa said in June.
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The company will manage berths four to seven in a 30-year concession. Tanzania is also seeking private investors to operate a four-berth container terminal after the lease agreement of Hutchison Ports ended in December.
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The investment should help Dar es Salaam compete with Mombasa as a trade hub in the region, as well as Durban in South Africa, the continent’s busiest — yet inefficient — container port. The Tanzanian harbor could serve as a gateway for Zambia, Malawi, Burundi and Zimbabwe.
DP World will handle roll-on/roll-off, bulk, general cargo and containers to cater to future trade demand from eastern and southern Africa, according to the statement.
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