Ticts to invest Sh40bn in new cranes

What you need to know:

  • The firm’s new chief executive officer (CEO), Mr Jared Zerbe said in a statement on Friday that the company is investing Sh39 billion in purchasing two more quay cranes with a capacity of 15 containers outreach and 38 metres lifting height..

Dar es Salaam. The Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (Ticts) plans to purchase two more quay cranes before the end of this year, the company announced on Friday.

The firm’s new chief executive officer (CEO), Mr Jared Zerbe said in a statement on Friday that the company is investing Sh39 billion in purchasing two more quay cranes with a capacity of 15 containers outreach and 38 metres lifting height.

“The investment will cost the company Sh39 billion and this is will allow Dar es Salaam port to serve bigger vessels at a shorter time hence increase the number of the vessels calling Dar es Salaam Port,” he said in a statement that he and the company’s new chief finance officer, Mr Matthew Clifft were officially introduced to have joined Ticts.

According to the statement, the company has so far invested over Sh156 billion in projects that seek to tweak its operations at the Port of Dar es Salaam during the past 15 years, signaling that with the coming quay cranes, the invested amount should be close to Sh200 billion. In the same vein, the company has paid and collected over Sh860 billion through royalties, taxes and wharfage charges during the past 15 years thus highlighting its importance in Tanzania’s economic growth endeavors.

“Ticts has paid to the Tanzania Port Authority (TPA) over Sh220 billion in royalties and lease payments as well as collected over Sh525 billion in wharfage charges which was passed to the TPA. This does not include the Sh115 billion that has been paid to the Tanzania government as corporate taxes,” the statement reads.

Meanwhile, the statement said the two top executives are meant to drive the company to peak performance and also transform the shipping service industry in Tanzania in general and the port of Dar es Salaam in particular.

Mr Zerbe - who brings in a wealth of experience in management of international terminal operating companies – will be required to review potential additional investments in Tanzania and possibly surrounding countries to ensure that the transport corridor connecting Dar es Salaam with other cities in Tanzania and other countries becomes more competitive than other ports and transport corridors in the region.