Transport minister Prof. Makame Mbarawa said at the signing ceremony in Dar es Salaam that the project was gestating for over ten years. It will take two years to complete and it will have a total holding capacity for 420,000 metric tonnes.
Six tanks with capacity for 30,000 metric tonnes each are meant for holding diesel, five similar tanks will hold petrol, three such other tanks are reserved for jet fuel and one tank stayed for interface processes, he stated.
The project was drawn up in 2015 and adopted in 2017 but its implementation was delayed due to various reasons, even as it promises substantial benefits to the government and oil traders, he said.
“We have struggled for more than ten years to start this project. Today, we are going to write a new history in our nation because this project was announced many years ago but its implementation never took place. It is a project of great benefit to our country in the oil transportation sector,” the minister declared.
Completion of the project will help prevent losses from demurrage charges for delays in fuel unloading, as upwards of $25,000 was being paid daily for a loaded ship, adding to $0.25m monthly.
He urged the TPA management to build a well-equipped dock at Kigamboni area to keep up with the pace and size of the port. The current dock at Kurasini is insufficient and does not meet port standards and operations, he specified.
The Kurasini dock is small considering the scale of fuel operations, hence the need for a fuel unloading dock, he said, noting that ships stay for a long time, resulting in inefficiency and lack of productivity in fuel import operations.
TPA needs to ensure the implementation of the project by overseeing it on the basis of the contractual timetable, thus investment value for money, sparing the government additional costs in the case of contractors requesting extension for project implementation, he emphasised.
TPA director general Plasduce Mbossa said that the project will also reduce demurrage charges in cutting unloading time to be aligned to the Tanzania Zambia Oil Pipeline (TAZAMA), taking 48 hours to unload oil at the single point mooring (SPM).
“In other words, there will be an average saving of eight days, which is equivalent to $ 0.2m as this cost affects pump prices, hence reducing fuel prices, diminishing the fuel crisis and cutting complaints among fuel companies” he elaborated.
The project will also strengthen fuel storage by ensuring sufficient fuel reserves, sorting out the 15 days oil storage limit at present, enhancing confidence among oil exporters as they can store their fuel in the port tanks, he said.
Deus Sangu (Kwela), the Public Investments Committee (PIC) chairman in the National Assembly, urged TPA to put up an emergency dock for ships, suggesting that the port can be a shipping and storage hub for neighbouring countries.
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