THE Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) is prepared to take the lucrative fuel transport business from Dar es Salaam port to Zambia after enforcement of legislation that reduces maximum weight on loads transported by road in Tanzania.
According to a statement from TAZARA spokesperson, Conrad Simuchile, the railway authority was preparing to move over 30,000 tonnes (30 million litres) of fuel per month of Zambia after East African Community Vehicle Load Control Act, 2016 came to force last month.
TAZARA Managing Director, Eng Bruno Ching’andu said TAZARA and Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) were discussing with fuel suppliers in Zambia on how best to effectively move the petroleum cargo from the Dar Port after the road transporters abandoned the commodity following implementation of the law.
Mr Ching’andu says that by the end of April, TAZARA and ZRL would have finalised Service Level Agreements with petroleum suppliers, a development that would enable the two railways to hire additional tank wagons to transport the commodity into Zambia.
Tanzania passed the East African Community Vehicle Load Control Act in 2017 to protect roads in EAC member countries of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan by curbing overloading.
The new law came into effect on the 1st of January this year but the government suspended its enforcement until the 1st of March to allow for completion of installation of new weighing system across the country.
Under the law vehicles with a gross weight of 3,500 kg and more have to be weighed at every weighbridge they pass through. The weight in axle of super single tyre has been lowered to 8.5 tonnes, from 10 tonnes.
The law stipulates a 15,000-U.S.-dollar fine or three-year jail term or both, for contravening the new weight rules. Implementation of the law also aims to reduce the number of road accidents.
There are other categories apart from the abnormal load that need special permits. These are the awkward load, hazardous load, super load and unstable load.
