Tanzania has floated a tender for a feasibility study and design of an import facility with a storage terminal at Mbwamaji in Dar es Salaam port to handle 250,000-tonne tankers with the aim of relocating the Kurasani Jetty.

The Tanzania Ports Authority said the new jetty will help meet local fuel demand and also serve Zambia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda.

Kenya has floated a similar tender for relocation of its Kipevu fuel jetty near Dongo Kundu in Mombasa in order to handle of 200,000 tonnes tankers as the two states compete to handle imported refined petroleum products for landlocked East and Central Africa.

The relocation of the fuel jetty from Kipevu will allow offloading of tankers with a capacity of 170,000 tonnes.

The new island terminal will have four berths capable of facilitating import as well as export of crude oil, heavy fuel oil, dual purpose kerosene, diesel and petrol. The terminal is expected to make Mombasa sea port a major trading hub.

READ: Construction of new oil terminal begins in October in Mombasa

Data shows that East Africa consumed oil products worth $7.9 billion in 2014 and that the region’s fuel imports could grow by 8 per cent in 2016, due to increased use of fuel, driven by rising urbanisation, population growth and increase in the number of vehicles.

Container terminal

Tanzania imports about 270,000 tonnes of petrol, diesel, kerosene and jet A-1 fuel monthly. The Tanga port is currently being used as a second discharging point for imported fuel to help decongest the Dar es Salaam port.

Tanzania plans to build a new container terminal at berths 13 to 14, but access and efficient operations of the facility will be obstructed by the Kurasini oil jetty in Berth 12.

TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) said it has asked companies interested in undertaking the feasibility study and detailed engineering design for the new jetty to submit their documents by June 13. TMEA is conducting the exercise on TPA’s behalf.

The successful company will be required to provide a detailed engineering design, prepare cost estimates with drawings of facility and tender documents for procurement of a contractor for construction.

The firm will make recommendations for a jetty and tanks equipped with automatic meters, fire suppression systems, surveillance cameras and a centralised control room using the latest terminal automation.

The scope of work includes recommendations on systems for handling   refined fuel and crude oil from berthing vessel with a capacity of between 150,000 and 250,000 tonnes.

Dar es Salaam port handles crude oil for delivery to a refinery in Zambia. The consultant is expected to propose options for relocating the current Kurasini oil jetty and sub-surface pipelines, including choice of appropriate area and pipelines routes in conjunction with storage tanks.