Tanzania to commence constructing $10 billion sea port in December
Authorities say the port will be able to handle ships with a capacity of up to 25,000 containers.
Tanzania will start construction of a new port in the east of the country in December, a senior government official said, ending a decade of delays due to government objections to the initial contract terms.
Bagamoyo port, a part of the large-scale special economic zone initiative involving industrial parks and rail and road links, is located about 75 km (47 miles) north of the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam.
Gerson Msigwa, the chief government spokesperson, told reporters on Sunday that the port will have 28 berths, but construction will start on December 14.
Construction machinery was on the way, he said without providing further details, and the port will have a depth of up to 20 metres and be able to receive larger ships than any other port in the eastern African region.
“The port will be able to handle ships with a capacity of up to 25,000 containers,” he said, without giving details of the value of the project or the construction contractor.
The East African nation signed a framework agreement with two developers from China and Oman in 2013 but implementation was delayed because the government said the terms were not favourable for the country.
After taking office in 2021, President Samia Suluhu Hassan said they had started negotiations to revive the $10 billion project.