TradeMark Africa says it supports upgrading of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa ports, not for them to compete against each other, but to serve the region better in the wake of booming trade.

The TMA Board of Directors Chairman, Mr Ali Mufuruki, said last week that their support to improve physical capacity and efficiency at the two ports was not focused on competition but to help them optimise their potential as “they operate far below their capabilities.”

“I don’t think the ports are in competition I don’t understand the logic of one port competing with the other,” he told reporters in Nairobi during the inauguration of TMA’s new board in Nairobi.

He said they do not see the two ports competing but rather complementing each other with the Dar port serving Tanzania and other landlocked neighbouring countries through the Central Corridor and Mombasa serving Nairobi and the neighbours through the Northern corridor.

TMA, DFID and World Bank are supporting upgrading of the Dar port in a 565 million US dollars project started last year to improve infrastructure, productivity, dialogue processes and to roll out an electronic single window system.

It is expected the project will boost cargo handling capacity from 14.6 million tonnes in 2013/14 to 28 million by 2020. TMA is also working with Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) to implement a proposed Mombasa port development programme to improve productivity and optimize supply chains for the different cargo trades.

Jointly with the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it organized a panel on the port of Mombasa at the World Trade Organisation’s 5th Global Review of Aid for Trade held in Geneva in July this year. “We do not see our support to the two ports is to enable one to compete against another.

Absolutely nothing will be gained by having one port weaker and another stronger,” he said.

“We want to get the most out of the two ports We need to invest more and move out of this idea Tanzania is competing with Kenya or vice versa.”

TMA Chief Executive Officer, Frank Matsaert said capacities of the two ports lagged booming trade demands “Trade is booming and capacities of the two ports are low.

It means we need to expand and make them efficient gateways to the region,” he said. Despite being considered lagging behind other established facilities due to their low capacities in storage, maintenance and dredging, Dar and Mombasa ports are seen to be competing for the position of the most preferred maritime gateway in East Africa.

Their rivalry stems from their geo positioning with Mombasa seen losing regional market share to Dar es Salaam as the latter seems to enjoy increased trade volume to infrastructure improvements.

Source: Daily News

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of TradeMark Africa.