Dar es Salaam – President Samia Suluhu Hassan, on March 3, 2026, laid the foundation stone for the Oil Receiving and Storage Tanks Construction Project at the Port of Dar es Salaam in Kigamboni.
The move marks the formal public launch of one of East Africa’s most consequential energy infrastructure investments in recent years.
The project, awarded to a joint venture between China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group Co Ltd and WUHUAN Engineering Co Ltd, will construct 15 storage tanks with a combined capacity of 378,000 cubic metres — enough to hold approximately 378 million litres of petroleum products.
The facility will accommodate three grades of fuel: 162,000 cubic metres of diesel, 135,000 cubic metres of petrol, and 81,000 cubic metres of Jet A-1 aviation fuel.
Engineering supervision is being undertaken by Hatib & Lami Engineers in association with local firms Projmals and Nova Consult Company, at a contract value of Sh23.2 billion.
The project addresses a set of operational bottlenecks that have long undermined the efficiency of Tanzania’s petroleum supply chain.
The Port of Dar es Salaam, the country’s principal maritime gateway, currently handles liquid bulk cargo — including oil and fuels — through a Single Point Mooring (SPM) buoy and the Kurasini Oil Jetty (KOJ).
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Both facilities have been strained by the port’s growing throughput, which reached a record 27.7 million tonnes in the 2024/2025 financial year, a 17 per cent increase on the previous year.
Under the existing infrastructure, oil tankers arriving at the port wait an average of 22 days at anchorage before offloading can begin, and the discharge process itself takes a further seven days.
These delays are compounded by the fragmented nature of the current system: the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) must repeatedly halt offloading operations to redirect fuel flows between multiple private storage clients, each with separate receiving tanks.
The cumulative effect is a costly inefficiency that ripples through the entire supply chain.
Each vessel delayed beyond its contracted schedule incurs demurrage charges averaging US$25,000 per day — costs that are invariably passed on to the end consumer at the fuel pump.
TPA Director General Plasduce Mbossa, speaking at the ceremony, described the consequences of these delays as a systemic risk.
“Ships have been waiting a long time to offload fuel,” he said, “a situation that has been increasing the cost of transporting fuel into the country, as well as demurrage charges.”
He noted that the new facility is designed to resolve these structural weaknesses by consolidating receiving infrastructure under a single, modern, state-managed complex.
Expected transformation
Upon completion, the project is expected to transform the port’s petroleum handling performance. Vessel waiting time at anchorage will be cut from 22 days to seven, and cargo discharge time will fall from seven days to one — a reduction of 86 per cent.
The elimination of demurrage charges, previously running at Sh58 million (US$22,500) per vessel per day, will directly reduce the cost of fuel for Tanzanian consumers.
The port’s annual oil handling capacity will double from six million to 12 million metric tonnes, enabling it to serve a significantly larger volume of domestic and transit demand.
The project also carries a second phase, in which new dedicated oil jetties will be constructed and connected directly to the storage tanks via pipeline infrastructure.
This will eliminate the need for tankers to use general-purpose berths and further streamline the offloading process. For now, the project continues to use the existing jetties while the tanks are completed.
Timing
The ceremony took place against a backdrop of acute global energy market volatility.
President Samia used the occasion to direct the Ministry of Energy and other relevant authorities to strengthen Tanzania’s strategic fuel reserves, citing disruptions in international oil markets that had pushed global fuel prices up by 13 per cent in the preceding week.
“Given current global energy disruptions, it is vital that Tanzania strengthens its capacity to withstand external shocks, including fluctuations in international oil prices,” she said.
“We must ensure that our energy security is not compromised and that supply remains stable for Tanzanians,” she added.
The project is fully funded by the Tanzanian government through TPA, without recourse to external borrowing.
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Mbossa attributed this financial self-sufficiency to the revenue gains generated by the privatisation of port operations: private sector participation has reduced operational costs and boosted efficiency, enabling TPA to accumulate surpluses that are being reinvested in infrastructure.
Customs revenue from the port has grown from Sh7.3 trillion in 2020 to Sh12.3 trillion in the 2024–2025 fiscal year.
As of February 2026, TPA had paid Sh113.6 billion to the contractor and Sh3.5 billion to the engineering supervisor, bringing total disbursements to Sh117.1 billion.
The project is scheduled for completion on February 3, 2027, after which a 12-month defects liability period will begin before the facility is formally commissioned.
Regional ambitions
Beyond its domestic significance, the project is central to Tanzania’s ambition to serve as the primary energy gateway for landlocked countries in the East and Central African interior.
Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo all depend on the Dar es Salaam corridor for a significant share of their fuel imports. Delays and capacity constraints at the port translate directly into supply disruptions and price volatility in those markets.
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President Samia described the investment as a strategic repositioning of Tanzania’s economic identity.
“This investment in the construction of oil storage tanks is a strategic step to strengthen Tanzania’s position as a centre of trade and investment, regionally and internationally,” she said.
“We are determined to serve our neighbours commercially and in terms of investment, and to make Tanzania the centre of trade within this region and across Africa,” she added.
The Head of State directed contractors and consultants to maintain quality standards and complete the project on schedule, and expressed her intention to return to inaugurate the facility upon its completion.
“I have laid the foundation stone,” she said, “and God willing, you will call me to come and open it.”
