By Enyichukwu Enemanna
After a decade of delays in commencement of what it says will be the largest seaport in East Africa, the Tanzania government has renewed discussions with foreign developers.
The government had raised objection to the initial contract terms of the 2013 agreement with China Merchants Holdings International and Oman’s State General Reserve Fund which it said was not favourable to the country.
But the chief government spokesperson, Gerson Msigwa on Sunday told reporters that the construction of the port will commence December and will have 28 berths.
Bagamoyo port, a part of the large-scale special economic zone initiative involving industrial parks and rail and road links, is located about 75 km north of the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam.
According to Msigwa, construction machinery was on the way and the port will have a depth of up to 20 meters and will be able to receive larger ships than any other port in the region.
“The port will be able to handle ships with a capacity of up to 25,000 containers,” he said, without giving details of the value of the project nor the construction contractor.
Since she come to office in 2021 following the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli, President Samia Suluhu Hassan has made efforts to commence negotiations to revive the $10 billion project.
