Dar port vital to our economy-Kagame
 
2005-05-14 09:11:44
By Guardian Reporter

	President Paul Kagame of Rwanda (right) is briefed on the activities of the Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (TICTS) by TICTS CEO David Cotty at Dar es Salaam port yesterday.(Photo: Emmanuel Kwitema)

President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has assured Tanzania that his country would continue using the Dar es Salaam port for transit traffic.

President Kagame, who is on a three-day visit to Tanzania, made the remark yesterday when he visited the port.

He commended the management for the high quality and efficient service the port offers and added that the facility played an important role in the Rwandan economy.

'I want to assure you that Rwanda will continue using the Dar es Salaam port,' he said.

Earlier, the Tanzania Ports Authority Acting Director-General, Peter Mtandu, told the visiting president that traffic volume for Rwanda through the port fluctuated due to inadequate capacity of transport, especially rail, and the lack of reliable road link to Kigali.

Mtandu said most of Rwanda cargo was delivered by road from the port because of the low capacity of Tanzania Railways Corporation to handle the cargo.

He said that in 2000 the port handled 86,186 tonnes while in 2004 it handled 63,392 tonnes respectively, a decrease of 26.4 per cent.

Over the past five years the Dar es Salaam port has handled a total of 2,934,431 million tonnes of transit traffic, of which 319,501 tonnes were destined to Kigali.

The tonnage represents 10.9 per cent of total volume of the transit traffic through the port.

However, he said there had been an encouraging trend in the past two years as traffic shot up from 50,661 tonnes in 2003 to 63,392 tonnes in 2004, which translates into a 25.1 per cent increase.

'Despite the low volume of Rwandan traffic through our port, we have always endeavoured to maintain close business contacts with out customers in Kigali,' he said.

The official said the two governments had in the past held a number of bilateral meetings aimed at resolving the problems hindering the smooth flow of goods to and from Rwanda.

These include stepping up the use of Isaka dry port by Rwandan importers and exporters and the construction of Isaka-Kigali railway link.

He said Tanzania was also rehabilitating sections of the road linking Kigali to Dar es Salaam.

He said the government was also committed to completing the project to, in turn, facilitate the completion of the Dar-Rusumo road by the end of 2006.

The government plans to invest more in the facilities in addition to the 500bn/- that has already been spent in the past 10 years to improve the port.

• SOURCE: Guardian