Government transfers Kurasini land to Dar port

Dar es Salaam. A vast tract of idle land in Kurasini, Dar es Salaam, will now be used by Dar es Salaam Port as a green channel, the government said on Monday.

The land was initially meant for the proposed Kurasini Trade and Logistics Centre.

“We will now use that particular area as a green channel,” Transport permanent secretary Godius Kahyarara told The Citizen.

A green channel refers to a customs area at an airport or port that has been set aside for arriving passengers who have no goods to declare. It can also be used to house perishable goods meant for export.

A total of 60 hectares in Kurasini and parts of Shimo la Udongo, Mivinjeni and Kiungani areas were originally meant for the proposed Kurasini Trade and Logistics Centre.

In line with the Dubai model, the area was to have been used as a storage facility for Chinese manufacturers.

The facility would have enabled traders from within Tanzania and neighbouring countries to buy a wide variety of goods manufactured in China at a one-stop centre without having to travel to China.

The government compensated those who had to move out to pave the way for the project, but the focus changed as soon as the exercise was completed.

With domestic industrialisation gaining momentum, the project began drawing criticism.

Some critics were of the view that promoting imports from China was contrary to Tanzania’s development vision which, among other goals, seeks to promote home-grown industries.

The government subsequently cancelled the project and converted the area into an extension of Dar es Salaam Port.

Industry and Trade deputy minister Exaud Kigahe told The Citizen on Monday that the area was still government property and had since been transferred to the Transport ministry.

New trade and logistics centres are being set up in Kwala, Coast Region, and Ubungo in Dar es Salaam.

And, according to Prof Kahyarara, the government shelved the Kurasini Trade and Logistics Centre project to help reduce congestion at Dar es Salaam Port.

“A new project is in the pipeline and its execution will start soon. The goal is to ensure that the area becomes a green channel for agricultural products, especially perishable goods, before they are exported,” he said.

Prof Kyaharara added that the government had received many requests from people who were interested in setting up crop storage facilities.

He urged Tanzanian businesspeople to grab the available opportunities and grow their businesses.

Several analysts who spoke to The Citizen on Monday said transferring the area to Dar es Salaam Port was the right decision.

An economist from the University of Dar es Salaam, Dr Wilhelm Ngasamiaku, said by handing over the area to Dar es Salaam Port, the government had shown its seriousness in efforts to improve the port’s efficiency.

This, he added, was because the port needed more space for warehouses and other storage facilities and the investors who were to have been involved in the Kurasini Trade and Logistics Centre project could be given suitable locations elsewhere.

“I can say that the area is suitable for the port, but not for industry. It will help the port to breathe and attract more investors. This will go a long way in further promoting economic growth,” Dr Ngasamiaku said.

Mr Kigahe told The Citizen in January that the Kurasini Trade and Logistics Centre project had not been abandoned, but moved to the Kwala dry port in Kibaha, Coast Region, to give Dar es Salaam Port more breathing space.

He said upon its completed, the project, which is now known as Kwala Industrial Parks, will draw more than 300 industrial firms.

Mr Kigahe added that thousands of direct and indirect jobs would be created in the process.

Implementation of the Kwala project began last year and the facility is expected to become operational next year.

Mr Kigahe said the government was putting in place the relevant infrastructure at Kwala as part of efforts to foster a favourable business environment in the area.