South Sudan Asks Tanzania for Land to Build Inland Cargo Depot
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South Sudan has formally asked Tanzania to allocate land for an inland container depot, after securing designated space at the ports of Dar es Salaam and Tanga earlier this year.
South Sudan has asked Tanzania to provide land for an inland container depot, with Transport Ministry Undersecretary Paul Dhel Gum making the request at the 10th Assembly of Ministers of the Maritime Organisation of Eastern, Southern and Northern Africa (MOESNA).
Gum framed the proposal as a partnership rather than a simple land request, saying: "We are not asking Tanzania simply to provide land. We are proposing a partnership that will create economic value, expand trade, strengthen transport connectivity and bring our two nations closer together."
The request follows an agreement earlier this year under which South Sudan secured designated land at the ports of Dar es Salaam and Tanga for cargo terminals. The proposed inland container depot would involve separate land and add another component to that arrangement.
Tanzania has not yet responded to the request. Gum did not specify the amount of land sought, its proposed location, the cost of developing the facility or when it might become operational.
Gum said South Sudan wants to use Dar es Salaam as an additional gateway to international markets alongside Kenya’s Port of Mombasa, which has historically served the country’s import and export trade.
Dar es Salaam is Tanzania’s principal seaport, handling about 95 per cent of the country’s international trade and serving landlocked countries across East and Central Africa, including Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The proposed depot could support cargo handling, customs coordination and the movement of goods destined for South Sudan.