Trade capacity in Tanzania will be boosted with the construction of a major seaport in 2015. The planned Indian Ocean port at the small town of Bagamoyo is 75 kilometres north of Dar es Salaam.

This follows the signing of deals in China with funding for the port coming from China Merchant Holding International and Oman’s State General Reserve Fund.

Dar es Salaam currently handles over 90% of Tanzania’s imports and exports totalling more than 10 million tonnes of cargo a year, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB).

But with container traffic expected to grow at more than 10% a year and the port already outdated and overstretched, according to the AfDB, the new site at Bagamayo is key for expansion and keeping transport costs down.

As well as for domestic use, Bagamoyo is expected to serve landlocked regional countries including Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia.

The project is also expected to involve a special economic zone as well as connections to Tanzania’s railway network.

Source – AllAfrica.com