The port, which is being built at Bagamoyo, will replace the country’s main port in Dar es Salaam owned by Tanzania Ports Authority, which is apparently operating beyond its capacity with no room for expansion.
It is hoped that the new port will have double the capacity of the old one, around 20 million containers annually, and it aims to exploit growth in a region seeking to exploit new oil and gas finds.
Bagamoyo’s port will also have a special economic zone which is aimed at bringing about the government’s goal of ‘industrial revolution’ in Tanzania, according to Reuters.
Phase 1 of the project should take between two and three years to complete and much of the $11bn funding for the work is coming from a Chinese investment firm.
As well as facilitating trade in the region by acting as a hub for raw materials coming in and out neighbouring landlocked countries, it will also bring Chinese manufactured goods into the region.
The new development is not without its critics. The port idea was apparently pushed through Parliament by the ruling party with barely any debate.
Tanzania is East Africa’s second biggest economy after Kenya and some have argued that the new port project would dwarf the port project at Kenya’s Port of Mombasa harming the country’s economy.
Also, some have pointed out that there is no need for a larger port in Bagamoyo when the port at Dar es Salaam is underutilised while Tanga in the north and Mtwara in the south lay dormant.