Chinese companies secure contract for petroleum infrastructure project at Dar es Salaam Port

DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Two Chinese companies have secured a contract to construct tanks and associated infrastructure for the receiving, storage and distribution of petroleum and energy products at the Dar es Salaam port, a senior Tanzanian official said.

The companies, China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group Co., Ltd, and Wuhan Engineering Co., Ltd, were announced by Minister for Transport Makame Mbarawa on Monday.

Mbarawa said that the project, valued at 678.6 billion Tanzanian shillings (about 266 million U.S. dollars), marked the government's latest effort to enhance cargo handling efficiency at the country's major port.

The project will involve the construction of 15 tanks with a total storage capacity of 420,000 cubic meters for petroleum products. Mbarawa added that the project is scheduled to be completed within two years.

Each of the 15 tanks will have a capacity to store 30,000 cubic meters of petroleum products, according to the minister. Six tanks will be designated for diesel storage, five for petrol, three for jet fuel, and one for the interface process.

Upon completion, the tanks are expected to significantly reduce the time ships spend offloading petroleum products at the port.

Plasduce Mbossa, the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) director-general, said that upon completion of the project, the unloading of petroleum products would be reduced from the current average of 11 to 12 days to three to four days.

The construction of the tanks was expected to yield several benefits, including a potential reduction in fuel prices, mitigation of oil loss issues at the port of Dar es Salaam, and a decrease in complaints among oil traders, Mbossa said.

He added that the construction of the tanks would also improve revenue collection because all oil would be received, properly measured in one place, and under the authority of the port before distribution.