Tanzania Ports Authority
Encyclopedia
Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) is a parastatal public corporation acting under the aegis of the Ministry of Infrastructure Development
, that has the responsibility "to manage and operate" the seaports and lake ports of the country of Tanzania
. The TPA is located in Dar es Salaam
. It is a member of the Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa.
ports are Dar es Salaam, Mtwara, and Tanga
; minor seaports serving coastal traffic include Lindi
, Kilwa Masoko
, Mafia Island
, Bagamoyo
, Pangani
and Kwale
. The Port of Zanzibar
is administered separately by the Zanzibar Port Corporation
.
, which handles 95% of the country's international sea trade. most of the ports cargo handling and clearance depends on labor extensively. The port is divided into two parts (TICTS and TPA), due to lack of handling support the TPA has authorized TICTS privately owned by Hong Kong investors to receive and clear on behalf of this port. Lately due to the increased number of import and export containers TPA has introduces several Internal Container Depots (ICD). Namely AMI ICD, AZAM ICD, MUKUBA ICD, KICD, DICD and others. Due to the lack of transport means, transportation of imports and exports highly depends on private road transporters. Some of these transporters are Swift motors, Trans cargo, Madina transport and lately up coming transporters such as R.J. Motichand trans, Koru freight and others.
This port suffers from extensively inefficiency, corruptions,Technology and system break downs. System break downs go up to 24 hours to 72 hours sometimes leading to long trucks lining up for container clearance. Corruption is also very high effecting the custom duties paid by both importer and exporters. Due to the negative balance of payment the government has reduce taxes on exports in order to encourage exporter and enable the countries exports to be more competitive in the international market. Agriculture products are the main export materials while technological products are highly depended on advanced overseas countries i.e. China.
This port has recently improved in terms of technology and IT support. It has also launched their online website offering tracking system for clearing agents and importers,careers support by offering various certificates and diplomas regarding the port handling and clearance.
at the Port of Mtwara was deepened during 1948-1954, and railways built, as part of the Tanganyika groundnut scheme
. The port is functional and underutilized.
include Mwanza
, Bukoba
, Kemondo Bay, Musoma
and Nansio
. There is a TPA office in Mwanza. There are 20 other Lake Victoria ports with minor activity.
include Kigoma
and Kasanga
, with an office in Kigoma; there are 15 smaller ports.
has four important ports, at Itungi, Mbamba Bay
, Liuli and Manda; there is a Kyela District office. There are up to 10 other smaller TPA ports on the lake.
Ministry of Infrastructure Development, Tanzania
The Ministry of Infrastructure Development of Tanzania is responsible for coordinating and financing the development of the infrastructure of the country...
, that has the responsibility "to manage and operate" the seaports and lake ports of the country of Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
. The TPA is located in Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
. It is a member of the Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa.
Indian Ocean ports
The TPA's main Indian OceanIndian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
ports are Dar es Salaam, Mtwara, and Tanga
Tanga, Tanzania
Tanga is both the name of the most northerly seaport city of Tanzania, and the surrounding Tanga Region. It is the Regional Headquarters of the region.With a population of 243,580 in 2002, Tanga is one of the largest cities in the country...
; minor seaports serving coastal traffic include Lindi
Lindi
Lindi is a coastal town located at the far end of the Lindi Bay, on the Indian Ocean in southeastern Tanzania. The town is 450 kilometers south of Dar es Salaam and 105 kilometers north of Mtwara, the southernmost coastal town in Tanzania, and gives its name to the surrounding Lindi Region, one...
, Kilwa Masoko
Kilwa Masoko
Kilwa Masoko is a port town in eastern Tanzania. It is located at around .Kilwa Masoko is the site of very impressive ruins from the Ottoman Arab dynasties....
, Mafia Island
Mafia Island
Mafia Island is part of the Tanzanian Spice Islands, together with Unguja and Pemba. As one of the six districts of the Pwani Region, Mafia Island is governed from the mainland, not from the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar, of which it has never been considered to be a part.According to the...
, Bagamoyo
Bagamoyo
The town of Bagamoyo, Tanzania, was founded at the end of the 18th century. It was the original capital of German East Africa and was one of the most important trading ports along the East African coast...
, Pangani
Pangani
Pangani is one of the eight districts of Tanga Region in Tanzania. It is bordered to the North by the Muheza District, to the East by the Indian Ocean, to the South by the Pwani Region and to the West by the Handeni District.The center is Pangani....
and Kwale
Kwale
Kwale is a small town in Coast Province, Kenya. It is located at around ; 30 km southwest of Mombasa and 15 km inland. It is capital of the Kwale District. The town has an urban population of 4,200 . It is next to the Shimba Hills National Reserve...
. The Port of Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
is administered separately by the Zanzibar Port Corporation
Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar
The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar is the semi-autonomous government of Zanzibar, a part of Tanzania. It is made up of a Revolutionary Council and a House of Representatives of Zanzibar. The head of the government is the President of Zanzibar, who is also the chairman of the Revolutionary...
.
Port of Dar es Salaam
The principal port of Tanzania is Dar es SalaamDar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
, which handles 95% of the country's international sea trade. most of the ports cargo handling and clearance depends on labor extensively. The port is divided into two parts (TICTS and TPA), due to lack of handling support the TPA has authorized TICTS privately owned by Hong Kong investors to receive and clear on behalf of this port. Lately due to the increased number of import and export containers TPA has introduces several Internal Container Depots (ICD). Namely AMI ICD, AZAM ICD, MUKUBA ICD, KICD, DICD and others. Due to the lack of transport means, transportation of imports and exports highly depends on private road transporters. Some of these transporters are Swift motors, Trans cargo, Madina transport and lately up coming transporters such as R.J. Motichand trans, Koru freight and others.
This port suffers from extensively inefficiency, corruptions,Technology and system break downs. System break downs go up to 24 hours to 72 hours sometimes leading to long trucks lining up for container clearance. Corruption is also very high effecting the custom duties paid by both importer and exporters. Due to the negative balance of payment the government has reduce taxes on exports in order to encourage exporter and enable the countries exports to be more competitive in the international market. Agriculture products are the main export materials while technological products are highly depended on advanced overseas countries i.e. China.
This port has recently improved in terms of technology and IT support. It has also launched their online website offering tracking system for clearing agents and importers,careers support by offering various certificates and diplomas regarding the port handling and clearance.
Port of Mtwara
The harborHarbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
at the Port of Mtwara was deepened during 1948-1954, and railways built, as part of the Tanganyika groundnut scheme
Tanganyika groundnut scheme
The Tanganyika Groundnut Scheme was a plan to cultivate tracts of what is now Tanzania with peanuts. It was a project of the British Labour government of Clement Attlee. It was abandoned in 1951 at considerable cost to the taxpayers when it did not become profitable...
. The port is functional and underutilized.
Ports of Lake Victoria
Major TPA ports on Lake VictoriaLake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....
include Mwanza
Mwanza
Mwanza is a mid-sized port city on the southern shores of Lake Victoria in northwestern Tanzania. With an urban population of 1.2 million and a metropolitan population of 2 million, it is Tanzania's second largest city, following Dar es Salaam and ahead of other major Tanzanian cities of Arusha,...
, Bukoba
Bukoba
Bukoba is a town in northwest Tanzania on the western shore of Lake Victoria. It is the capital of the Kagera region. Population estimate: 100,000...
, Kemondo Bay, Musoma
Musoma
Musoma is a city located in northern Tanzania. It is the capital of Mara Region. It has a population of 103,497 . Musoma sits on the eastern edge of Lake Victoria not far from the Kenyan border. There are boats that take you across Lake Victoria from Musoma.- Geography :The town is sited in a...
and Nansio
Nansio
Nansio is a settlement on the island of Ukerewe, Lake Victoria, in Tanzania. It is the most populous settlement in the Ukerewe District, and is a port of entry for passenger and freight shipping services from Mwanza. The ward of Nansio, one of 28 in the district of Ukerewe, had a population of 5967...
. There is a TPA office in Mwanza. There are 20 other Lake Victoria ports with minor activity.
Ports of Lake Tanganyika
Principal lake ports on TanganyikaLake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake. It is estimated to be the second largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, and the second deepest, after Lake Baikal in Siberia; it is also the world's longest freshwater lake...
include Kigoma
Kigoma
Kigoma is a town and lake port in western Tanzania, on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika and close to the border with Burundi. It serves as the capital for the surrounding Kigoma Region and has a population of 135,234 and an elevation of 775 m.The historic trading town of Ujiji is 6 km...
and Kasanga
Kasanga
Kasanga is a town in southwestern Tanzania. It is located at around , on the shore of Lake Tanganyika, 810 m above sea level.-History:...
, with an office in Kigoma; there are 15 smaller ports.
Ports of Lake Nyasa
Lake Nyasa/Lake MalawiLake Malawi
Lake Malawi , is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the Great Rift Valley system of East Africa. This lake, the third largest in Africa and the eighth largest lake in the world, is located between Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania...
has four important ports, at Itungi, Mbamba Bay
Mbamba Bay
Mbamba Bay is a town in western Tanzania, lying on the eastern shore of Lake Malawi. Elevation 471m.- Port :Mbamba Bay has an indentation in the otherwise straight profile of the lake and may be a potential port.- Transport :...
, Liuli and Manda; there is a Kyela District office. There are up to 10 other smaller TPA ports on the lake.