Adani Ports to operate CT2 at Dar es Salaam Port

News 3 Jun 2024 by WCN Editorial

AIPH has signed a 30-year deal with the Tanzania Ports Authority to manage Dar es Salaam’s Container Terminal 2, which handled 820,000 TEU in 2023.

𝕏

Adani Ports to operate CT2 at Dar es Salaam Port — Dar es Salaam Port © Tanzania Ports Authority

Adani International Ports Holdings Pte Ltd. (AIPH), a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. (APSEZ), has signed a 30-year concession agreement with the Tanzania Ports Authority to operate and manage Container Terminal 2 at the Dar es Salaam Port.

CT2, with four berths, has an annual cargo handling capacity of 1 million TEU and managed 820,000 TEU in 2023, estimated to be 83% of Tanzania’s total container volumes. Furthermore, Dar es Salaam Port is a gateway port with a well-connected network of roadways and railways.

East Africa Gateway Limited (EAGL) has been incorporated as a joint venture of AIPH, AD Ports Group and East Harbour Terminals Limited (EHTL). APSEZ will be the controlling shareholder and will consolidate EAGL on its books.

EAGL has signed a Share Purchase Agreement for the acquisition of a 95% stake in Tanzania International Container Terminal Services Limited (TICTS) from Hutchison Port Holdings Limited (and its affiliate Hutchison Port Investments Limited) and Harbours Investment Limited for a purchase consideration of US$39.5 million.

CT2 was operated by TICTS from 2000 until September 2022 but the government chose not to extend its concession. That decision resulted in the Tanzania Ports Authority taking management control of the facility in January 2023. TPA also operates the port’s other container terminal.

TICTS currently owns all the port handling equipment and employs the manpower. Adani will operate CT2 through TICTS.

“The signing of the concession for Container Terminal 2 at Dar es Salaam Port is in line with APSEZ’s ambition of becoming one of the largest port operators globally by 2030. We are confident that with our expertise and network in ports and logistics, we will be able to enhance trade volumes and economic cooperation between our ports and East Africa. We will strive to transform Dar es Salaam Port into a world-class port,” said Karan Adani, Managing Director, APSEZ.

DP World’s concession

In October 2023, DP World secured a 30-year concession to operate the Dar es Salaam Port. The global terminal operator has agreed to invest US$250m in port improvements in the first phase of its concession, rising to US$1b over the full 30 years.

It has also pledged to develop hinterland logistics projects to connect the port to the wider region, including via rail-linked services, and agreed to invest in temperature-controlled storage to support agricultural exports. The development of a special economic zone has also been mooted.

The DP World deal relates to most of the port and not just the main container terminal, provoking criticism from opposition politicians. The original proposals from the Tanzania Ports Authority only referred to concessioning a single container terminal.

Dar es Salaam is currently much smaller than the Kenyan port of Mombasa, which can handle 2.1m TEU a year. However, the two ports are considered rivals in Eastern Africa, particularly given their rail connections with the region’s landlocked interior that allow them to serve Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and eastern DR Congo.