Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) has announced its plan to revive Mwanza – Uganda route in Lake Victoria by the end of this year.
According to TPA, the plan was announced over the weekend in Mwanza during a-two day meeting that brought together stakeholders from within and outside the country, particularly Uganda.
The route will be for transporting on-transit cargo which will be brought to Mwanza through railway and then moved to Uganda through waterway.
When the route becomes operational, at least 5,000 tonnes will be transported on monthly basis with Port Bell in Uganda being a destination terminal before being hauled to Kampala.
According to TPA, the first consignment will be transported via this route in December this year as pilot. The route re-introduction comes as a result of major improvements in the Tanzanian transport sector and frequent requests from TPA customers.
The route will trigger farm crops, natural resources like coal and fuel as well as industrial goods transportation due to the reliability of marine transport. For instance, traders say it is easier for Uganda to import rice from Kahama in Shinyanga region by shipping.
The decision by TPA to revive the route must be lauded, given the truth that marine transport is the cheapest mode of transport followed by railway transport.
Understandably, TPA has, since 2016, been working on reviving marine transport in all Tanzania waters by renovating all its ports. Efforts to rehabilitate the terminals have also seen all ports built on Lake Victoria, being renovated.
The renovation of the terminals on Lake Victoria paved the way for vessels operated by Marine Services Company Limited (MSCL) to exploit business opportunities on the world’s second-largest fresh water lake.
Rehabilitation of terminals, especially on Lake Victoria also paved the way for reinstatement of ferry wagon services between Mwanza port and other terminals including Port Bell in Uganda.
The advantage of using ferry wagons is that cargo destined for Uganda can be hauled from Dar es Salaam port by railway up to Mwanza before the railway vehicles are loaded into the train ferry up to Port Bell.
Terminals with railway infrastructure to support the use ferry wagons on Lake Victoria, include Musoma, Kemondo and Mwanza South ports.
Economic experts says Tanzania can reap more if it invests heavily on marine transport as it is now doing.
It is possible for all containerised cargo from Dar es Salaam Port destined for Kampala, Kigali and some parts of Kenya to be transported to Mwanza by railway before hauling it to Kisumu, Kemondo or Port bell by wagon ferries.
In so doing traders will be saving a lot in terms of time and costs while the nation will be saving roads from destruction.
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