The Poverty Impact of Modernising Dar es Salaam Port

This study assesses the likely impact of the modernization of the Port of Dar es Salaam on household welfare and poverty in Tanzania and neighboring countries. Trade volumes in Tanzania increased more than 10% per year in the last decade, and international trade has been one of the engines of growth in the country. However, the current state of Dar es Salaam port is a severe constraint on further growth. Increasing the efficiency of the port is a key challenge; container vessels have to wait an average of more than 10 days before berthing, and dwell times average another 10 days. The costs associated with the inefficiencies in the port are partially related to congestion. The situation is more critical for imports than for exports; the inefficiencies act as an implicit tax on imports and to a lesser extent as a tax on exports (Morisset, 2013).