DP World wins bid to run part of key Tanzanian Port for 30 years

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.

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.

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.

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.