By Faridah N kulu
Africa-Press-Tanzania The government of Zanzibar last week announced that they signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Oman Investment Authority to study the feasibility of a project to rehabilitate, develop and operate the Malindi Tourist Port.
The agreement was signed by the minister of Transport and communication Amour Hamil Bakar and Sheikh Nasser Al Harthy from Oman’s Investment Authority in the presence of President Hussein Mwinyi at State House Zanzibar.
Zanzibar’s aim
President Mwinyi said his government will continue wooing investors to the isles to make sure the five-year development program is achieved. Adding that the private sector shall handle all the sectors which are business-oriented.
Tasks
The Zanzibar government and its subsidiaries will study the feasibility of a project to rehabilitate, develop and operate the Malindi Tourist Port and develop the waterfront, as well as transfer commercial activities from the current port to the new Mangga Pwani port.
Oman’s aim
According to Sami bin Abdullah Al Sinani, Senior Director of Logistics and Infrastructure Services at the Oman Investment Authority, the MoU aims to maximize the Sultanate of Oman’s benefit from the Belt and Road Initiative, which passes through a group of ports in Asia and Africa and to build on the historical Omani relations with East Africa, one of the economically promising regions.
Opportunities
The deal holds investment opportunities that will contribute to the transfer of expertise available to the Agency and its subsidiaries in order to expand the management of international projects and to enter into partnerships with investors and international companies that have expertise that can be benefited from by transferring expertise to the projects of the affiliated companies locally.
Zanzibar and Oman ties
Zanzibar and Oman ties date from the early 1500s when both nations came under Portuguese colonial rule.
The recent past has witnessed Zanzibar the semi-autonomous archipelago being part of Tanzanian and Omani delegations in discussions aimed to forge closer economic, political, and cultural cooperation. The assumption shaping these developments is that the cooperation will benefit the two countries because of shared history, common blood, and familial ties between them.
