00:07Cranes lift goods bound for six of Tanzania's neighboring countries.
00:12In the last financial year, Dar es Salaam port handled a record more than 33 million
00:19tons of cargo.
00:20Officials had not expected to reach that level until 2030.
00:26We have seen very high efficiency over the past two years.
00:29We went from handling 23.7 million tons two years ago to 33.7 million tons this past
00:35year.
00:35So, you can see that in a short time, we have added 10 million tons at this Dar es Salaam
00:40port.
00:43Officials attribute the increase to deeper berths, new cranes, and the involvement of private
00:49terminal operators.
00:50Government figures show container ships now spend about three days at berth, down from
00:5510.
00:56Freight forwarders also point to a system that allows ships to book a berth while they
01:01are still at sea.
01:04They have introduced a system where you can apply for a berth early, by counting the days
01:08left until your ship arrives.
01:10With this fast window, many ships now take no more than one or two days to come in, offload
01:15and leave.
01:18A growing share of the cargo is destined for countries beyond Tanzania.
01:23Transit volumes rose 17% in the 2025-2026 financial year, reaching 14.6 million tons from 12.5 million
01:32tons the previous year.
01:34more than half was bound for the Democratic Republic of Congo.
01:39Behind me is the Indian Ocean for land-linked Congo, Zambia, Malawi, Rwanda and Burundi.
01:45This is their coastline too.
01:48More than four in every 10 tons handled here in the last financial year were transit cargo,
01:54most of it heading to these countries.
01:56Unloading at Dar es Salaam port is getting faster.
01:59The real test now is getting the cargo inland.
02:04But the journey has hurdles.
02:07Freight forwarders say aging rail infrastructure is a cause for worry.
02:11Zambia-bound cargo fell 5% in 2025-2026.
02:15Hopes now rest on a $1.4 billion Chinese-led upgrade of the Tazara Railway.
02:22We believe that once this project is complete, with the bridges repaired and the difficult
02:26sections that troubled our Tazara Railway fixed, it will be a big help in moving cargo from
02:31Dar es Salaam port to Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia.
02:34Kapiri Mposhi is a terminal that can serve cargo going to Congo and cargo moving within Zambia itself.
02:42The standard gauge railway is also taking on more cargo, supporting expectations of further
02:48growth at the port.
02:49The port's authority aims to increase annual cargo handling capacity to 62 million tons by 2031.
02:56But turning capacity into a bigger regional hub will depend on how quickly Tanzania can improve
03:02rail and road links carrying cargo beyond the port.
