No progress on Bagamoyo port project, govt admits

Dodoma. The government admitted yesterday that it has not made progress with the implementation of Bagamoyo port project because of failing to reach an agreement with Oman and China, who are the project implementing partners.
In November, 2017, Oman’s State General Reserve Fund (SGRF) announced that the Bagamoyo project was going ahead, saying it consisted of the construction of a maritime port, which would be built to international standards and would be developed in phases.
According to the SGRF, the first phase will conclude four marine berths, two of which will be allocated for containers, one for multiple uses and the other for support services.
However, the time frame for completion of the project remains unclear.
The project, which was well pronounced during the late days of former President Jakaya Kikwete, was initially signed in 2013 during an event that was witnessed by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Since then, there has been a change of focus with priority, apparently, being rehabilitation of ports of Dar es Salaam, Tanga and Mtwara.
Speaking in Parliament yesterday, the minister for State in the Vice President’s Office (Union Affairs and Environment), Mr January Makamba, said no agreement has so far been reached with the investors from China and Oman.
The minister was reacting to a supplementary question by Magogoni legislator Suleiman Yusuf (CUF), who sought to know about the progress of the project.
“We are yet to reach an agreement with the project implementing partners from Oman and China,” said Mr Makamba.
Mr Yusuf said the delay in decision making on the implementation of the Bagamoyo project was preventing Oman from financing the construction of the Zanzibar-based Mpigaduli port.
In his primary question, he asked on how the Union Government of Tanzania echoed the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar’s efforts to construct a big port.
Responding, the ministry’s deputy minister, Mr Mussa Sima, said the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) and Zanzibar Ports Corporation (ZPC) have been exchanging expertise to improve service delivery.