Data from the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) shows that Dar es Salaam Port handled 13.97 million tonnes of cargo between July and November 2025, up from 10.4 million tonnes over the same period a year earlier. The 2024–25 financial year closed with a record 27.7 million tonnes handled, representing a 15 percent increase year on year.
The growth follows major infrastructure upgrades that are reshaping how goods move into and out of the region. Under the Dar es Salaam Maritime Gateway Project, the entrance channel and berths have been deepened to 14.5 metres, enabling larger vessels to berth with heavier loads.
As a result, average container vessel time in port has fallen from around 10 days to approximately three, reducing shipping costs, improving schedule reliability and lowering exposure to storage and demurrage charges for cargo owners.
Bulk cargo operations have also expanded. Some grain vessels are now discharging up to 65,000 tonnes per call, compared with around 15,000 tonnes previously. While this strengthens national supply chains, it also accelerates inland cargo flows, increasing pressure on clearance and evacuation systems.
According to TPA Director General Plasduce Mbossa, port performance must be assessed across the entire logistics chain.
“A port succeeds when the whole chain moves,” Mbossa said. “Working a vessel fast helps, but the customer experiences the port through clearance and evacuation.”
Dar es Salaam now operates under a split terminal model. DP World manages berths 0 to 7, while Tanzania East Africa Gateway Terminal Limited operates berths 8 to 11. Public investment in cranes and digital systems supports the model, while performance-based contracts are designed to enforce consistency and productivity.
A key reform for shipping lines has been the introduction of fixed berthing windows, offering guaranteed slots and greater predictability. Predictability, Mbossa noted, is central to competitiveness, allowing importers, exporters and transport operators to plan more effectively and reduce costs.
To ease congestion beyond the quay, TPA is expanding inland capacity through the Kwala Inland Container Depot, linked by rail. Covering 502 hectares, the facility is designed to handle around 3,500 containers per day and more than 300,000 annually, equivalent to roughly 30 percent of Dar es Salaam’s container traffic.
“When cargo gets out quickly, everyone wins,” Mbossa said. “The ship is served faster, yards remain manageable and importers receive goods sooner.”
Looking ahead, TPA is targeting a throughput of around 30 million tonnes by 2030, supported by plans for 10 additional berths, further automation and improved rail connectivity. Work is also ongoing with customs authorities and transport operators to ease hinterland bottlenecks.
The proposed Bagamoyo port remains a longer-term, complementary project, to be phased in alongside demand growth rather than introduced as a sudden capacity expansion.
For now, Dar es Salaam’s transformation is evident in rising volumes, faster vessel turnaround and increasing pressure on inland logistics. Whether these gains are sustained will depend on clearance and evacuation keeping pace with growth, a factor that will shape trade across East Africa in the years ahead.
