Port of Tanga

The Port of Tanga is the second largest port in Tanzania. It is located in Central ward of Tanga District of Tanga Region². It was built in 1914 to serve the commercial and agricultural needs of northern Tanzania, and it is the longest-serving port in East Africa⁴. It has a capacity of 1.2 million tons per year and it handles various types of cargo, including liquid bulk, dry bulk, general cargo and containers⁵. It is connected to Dar es Salaam by a 354-km highway and to Moshi by the Usambara railway⁴. It is also strategically located to serve the northern regions of Tanzania and the neighboring countries of Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan⁵.

The port is undergoing an expansion project that aims to increase its capacity and efficiency. The project involves the deepening of the dock from the current 3.5 to 5m to 11m in order to enable bigger shipping vessels to dock. It also involves the construction of a container terminal, quay walls, container space, toll station, administrative space and other related facilities, and the installation of conveyor belts and safety systems¹. The project is estimated to cost US$100 million and is expected to be completed by the end of 2020¹. The first phase of the expansion project has been completed, and a 200-meter-long vessel docked on the refurbished Tanga Terminal on November 26, 2020, being the largest ship ever hosted at the port of Tanga². The expansion project is part of a larger masterplan for the strategic development of the ports of Tanzania during the next 25 years³.

This expansion of the port provides numerous benefits some of the benefits of expanding the port of Tanga are:

It will reduce the cost of doing business for traders in Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Manyara and Tanga regions as well as for those in neighboring countries.
It will reduce the transit time to the northern circuit by relieving congestion in the port of Dar es Salaam.
It will increase the port’s competitiveness and attract more customers in the country, the East African region and the great Lakes region.
It will enable the construction of a new fully-fledged oil terminal in Tanga, which will be connected to a pipeline that will deliver crude oil from Uganda.
It will boost the local economy and create more employment opportunities for the people of Tanga.

The expansion project of Tanga port is funded by various sources, including:

• The Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), which is the owner and operator of the port¹.
• The Tanzanian government, which has allocated funds for the project in its budget².
• The international consortium led by NIRAS, which has signed a contract with TPA for the study and design of a new oil terminal and the strategic development of the ports of Tanzania during the next 25 years³.
• The Total group, which is involved in the construction of the pipeline that will deliver crude oil from Uganda to Tanga³.