China will be investing US$10 billion (R90.18 billion)in a new port at Bagamoyo, Tanzania.

The investment will also be used for infrastructure related to the port improvement and to boost trade in the region.

The new port will be able to handle 20 million cargo containers per annum and will mainly be used to ship raw materials to China and to import Chinese manufactured goods. The port facilities at Dar es Salaam can currently handle only 800 000 containers per year.

New roads and railroads will connect to existing road and railroad networks, which will also undergo upgrades.

This will make Tanzania the main port for raw materials coming out of and goods going into Malawi, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda.

Tanzania will become a major East African shipping destination asBagamoyo will be the largest port in Africa and one of the biggest in the region (which includes the Persian Gulf).