The World Bank has granted credit worth the equivalent of over R4 billion to the loss-making Port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania for expanding the port facilities, and designed to up the port throughput from the current 15 million tonnes to 28mt a year by 2020.
But, while this funds a major equipment acquisition, it says little about its operation and management. And this was behind what the World Bank itself admitted: Inefficiencies at the port, which were costing Tanzania and neighbouring countries around R35.25 billion a year.
Dar, however, still remains one of the main gateways for landlocked African states such as Zambia, Rwanda, Malawi, Burundi, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as cheaper alternatives are slim.
