TPA to add oil and gas cargo handling courses at its Bandari College
What you need to know:
- The revelations were made by the TPA director general, Mr Plasduce Mbossa, during the 22nd graduation ceremony of the college, which saw at least 700 graduate with certificates and diplomas in different port-related courses.
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) is planning to add oil and gas cargo handling courses at its Bandari College as the sector growing, demanding more professionals.
The authority is also set to build a modern and large-capacity college that will accommodate more students.
The revelations were made by the TPA director general, Mr Plasduce Mbossa, during the 22nd graduation ceremony of the college, which saw at least 700 graduate with certificates and diplomas in different port-related courses.
“The sector is growing and we need more experts. Nowadays, we are forced to take our staff abroad for those courses, especially in Norway, but for now, we already have a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with them and we will work together on this,” said Mr Mbossa.
According to him, the Bandari College located in Tandika area is not spacious enough as the number of students is increasing, especially from abroad, mentioning countries like Sudan, Somalia, and Comoros, among other countries that depend on the college.
“We are in the process of obtaining land in Kigamboni area, and after that, other procedures will follow,” he said.
Speaking about the progress of adding the new courses, Bandari College principal Dr Lufunyo Hussein said that by involving stakeholders, they have prepared 15 curricula for different courses related to handling oil and gas cargo.
“The courses will start with handling, knowing the temperature, measuring, maintenance, risks, and safety precautions and procedures,” he mentioned,
He added that during the process they have involved stakeholders such as the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (Ewura), the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC), and some petrol station operators.
Talking about the capacity to train those expats, Dr Hussein said they have a few experts, but the MoU with Norway will provide them with experts to start with.
“For now, we have prepared the curriculum. The next step will be having meetings with stakeholders in January next year to discuss more before other procedures,” he said.
The chairman of the board of directors of TPA, Mr Ernest Mangu, emphasised that once the procedures are completed, the process of building the college will start immediately, but for now they will repair and renovate the existing infrastructure in the college.
Mr Mangu, who is an ambassador and former Inspector General of Police (IGP), said; “Tanzania is surrounded by enough water bodies and the port college is among the institutions that will enable Tanzanians to take advantage of that opportunity.”
