AfricaPress-Tanzania: ALL dilapidated trailers operating at Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA)’s major terminals will now undergo major rehabilitation as part of its strategy to improve cargo handling.
Trailers are equipment used in ports and on board of roll-on/roll-off ships to facilitate the shipping of unmovable commodities from one port to another or in moving consignment offloaded from cargo ships from one point to another within the terminal.
The equipment play an integral role in the operations of the terminal, without which the port suffers much in terms of congestion of cargo and reduction of ship turnaround time.
To enable the Authority operate smoothly, yesterday it signed an agreement with Tanzania Automotive Technology Centre (TATC), commonly known as Nyumbu, to rehabilitate all its trailers that are in bad shape.
The two parts signed a five-year long Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which would see the TATC renovate trailers and other equipment for TPA’s ports of Dar es Salaam, Mtwara and Tanga.
The TPA’s Director General, Eng Deusdedit Kakoko, and Acting Director General of TATC, Brig Gen Hashim Komba, inked the agreement in Dar es Salaam in the presence of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), General Venance Mabeyo.
The signing ceremony preceded a handing over of five renewed terminal trailers for the Dar es Salaam Port.
Speaking at the ceremony, CDF Mabeyo said the event was historic, seeing the army venturing into reviving major equipment for the ports to improve efficiency for driving the country’s economy.
“The move contradicts a negative mindset that we cannot produce for ourselves. Our army has shown that we can do so by using our professionals,” he remarked, adding:
“We are thanking President John Magufuli for providing an opportunity that propels us to use our creativity and continue improving production lines at the TATC,” Gen Mabeyo stated.
TPA’s board of directors chairman Prof Ignas Rubaratuka, remarked that the agreement aimed at boosting the economy by using local experts.
“We promise to give to the TPDF other maintenance works in the future. We have been satisfied with their work after restoring these five trailers for the Dar es Salaam Port,” Prof Rubaratuka stated.
He explained that apart from improving facilities of the ports, the agreement meant to reduce costs that the ports were incurring in purchasing other trailers.
Eng Kakoko said a decision to contract the TATC to revive the five trailers for the Dar port at a cost of 524.2m/- has helped the TPA save foreign money that could be spent on buying other trailers from abroad.
“We have plans to repair many more trailers in the future, and we promise to use our army to do this job,” Eng Kakoko said.
Dar es Salaam Port has over 145 decaying terminal trailers that are set for restoration.
On his part, Acting Director General of TATC, Brig Gen Komba, said they had used materials from within the country to restore the five trailers.
He explained restoring one trailer costs 95m/-, while it could cost the TPA between 120m/- and 140m/- for buying each one from abroad.
Brig Gen Komba assured the TPA of quality work of reviving the trailers within the agreed timeframe.
