Dubai’s DP World Delivers Wins for Tanzania’s Shipping Trade

• The Port of Dar es Salaam has seen total cargo throughput increase to 27.7M tonnes annually on account of heavy investment and modernization of cargo operations by Dubai’s DP World.
• Also credited in this rising returns is increasing efficiency by Tanzania East Africa Gateway Terminal Ltd (TEAGTL), an entity which is emerging as a premier container handling company at Dar Port.
• Together with digital transformation at the harbour, authorities report 15% annual growth in tonnage handling, a “ level not achieved since the port’s inception.” 

Tanzania has reported record increase in cargo tonnage running through the Port of Dar es Salaam, a feat that is largely attributable to billions of investment provided by Dubai’s DP World as well as increased efficiency at the regional trade hub.

According to the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), the country’s key harbour posted record 27.7 million tonnes of  total cargo throughput  for the financial year the 2024/25, a strong performance that averages a million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of cargo capacity.

By comparison, top cargo port capacity across Africa is led by major hubs such as Port Said (Egypt) at 12.4 million TEUs, Tanger Med (Morocco) 9 million TEUs, Durban (South Africa) at 3.6 million TEUs,  and Abidjan’s 2.5 million TEUs.

At 27.7 million tonnes of  total cargo throughput, authorities noted that this was a strong performance given the 23.69  million tonnes recorded for the  previous financial year. According to TPA, the increased capacity is attributable to investment in infrastructure, the use of modern equipment and most notably, increased injection of efficiency from key players in the private sector.

The turnaround at Dar port, which handles over 95 percent of Tanzania’s seaborne cargo, comes following the signing of a 30-year concession deal between Tanzania and UAE-based logistics heavyweight DP World. The pact, which was signed two years by DP World’s CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem in the presence of Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan, gives the Dubai firm the greenlight to operate and invest in modernising the Dar es Salaam Port.

According to the CEO, in the first phase, DP World invested more than $250 million that was directed towards upgrading the port and in the second phase, the investment is expected to increase to a whooping $1 billion. While the exact terms of the deal are confidential especially the share profit split between DP World and the TPA, the general outlook is that there is significant improvement at the port.

Speaking on behalf of TPA Director General Plasduce M, who is the Acting Dar es Salaam Port Director Abed Gallus, the port’s growth is the direct result of ‘effective partnerships with private operators.’

Dubai’s DP World triggers 15% annual growth in Tanzania’s cargo throughput

In his press address,  the Acting Port Director said increased tonnage represents a 15 per cent annual growth, “a level not achieved since the port’s inception.” He noted that the average time for a container ship to offload at the port has dropped from 10 to just three days. “Time saving at the Dar Port has had major effect, from attracting more ships to increased efficiency across the entire trade corridor, goods are reaching factory floors faster and from their to retail shelves,” Gallus detailed.

According to Gallus, cargo ships that previously delivered 15,000 tonnes worth of cargo are now arriving with up to 50,000 tonnes while bulk grain vessels are setting new benchmarks offloading cargo in excess of 65,000 tonnes.

Falling short of specifying the financial value, he said the new operators, DP World, have managed to grow the port’s capacity  from 18 million tonnes in 2021/22 to 23.69 million tonnes in 2023/24 and most recently to 27.7 million tonnes in 2024/25.

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Dar Port: Why harbour operations are on the rise

Notably, DP Word is not alone in the merit of this achievement, another key player is the Tanzania East Africa Gateway Terminal Limited (TEAGTL), which is taunted to be the region’s premier container handling company.

TEAGTL operates Container Terminal 2 (CT2) at the Dar Port which comprises of berths 8 to 11, this according to TPA. Notably, according to TPA, the CT2 is the largest container handling facility in Tanzania.

The CT2 is reported to have an annual handling capacity of approximately one million TEUs, and is capable of processing an estimated 0.82 million TEUs which represents almost 83 percent of the entire country’s container volume.

From this prestigious position, TEAGTL caters to transit cargo for most all neighbouring landlocked countries including Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, and Malawi.

Thanks to the private sector input, the Acting Port Director said, Dar Port cargo handling increased nearly 4 million tonnes in just one year, up from 23.69 million tonnes. The two private sector players, DP World which manages Berths 0–7, and TEAGTL that handles Berths 8–11 are the key change agents at the Dar Port, but they are not alone.

Another key player in the success of cargo handling at the Dar Port is the Dar es Salaam Maritime Gateway Project (DMGP). This government investment involved deepening and reinforcing the entire harbour to 14.5 metres a move that allowed for larger, heavier vessels to dock and offload.

Dar Port digital transformation improves cargo handling
According to Sylivester Kanyika the Tanzania Shipping Agencies Corporation (TASAC) Director General, digital transformation at the Dar Port helps facilitate terminal operations and streamline cargo handling services.

Speaking at recent press conference in Dar es Salaam where the new tonnage capacity of Dar Port was announced, the TASAC Director General credited TEAGTL’s performance to digital transformation at Dar Port.

He said, TEAGTL runs a sophisticated digital terminal operating system that enables it to streamline the port operations. Among other benefits of digitizing operations at the Dar Port he cited the ability of importers and exporters, freight forwarders and customs authorities to track the precise location and status of containers.

He said digitizing operations at the Port  has significantly helped to simplify operations which in turn has allowed for an increase in cargo management capacity.

To better understand the digital transformation at the Dar Port, TEAGTL Chief Executive Officer Jeyaraj Thamburaj cites a sophisticated container tracking system, that has served to increase transparency and security.

It is thanks to such digital facilities that; “More ships will choose this port,” he summed up.

Another key operations improvement that is worth noting at the Dar Port is the allocation of a special area to handle agricultural goods alone.

In his recent address to Parliament at the close of the year, Tanzania’s  Minister for Transport, David Kihenzile said the government has set aside a special area at the Dar Port specific to handle horticultural produce, livestock and fruits.

According to the Minister, TPA has allocated Plot No P28 that covers some 239,053 square metres specifically for handling agriculture based products.

He told Parliament that this area has been designated for container storage, cargo consolidation, handling of perishable as well as parking area for trucks that previously did not have a specific lot.