Tanzania to relocate Maritime college to pave way for new berth at Dar es Salaam port

Tanzania is executing a significant infrastructure transformation across its maritime sector, with two concurrent initiatives reshaping the country's port capabilities and positioning the nation as a critical logistics hub for East African trade. The government's commitment to relocating the Dar es Salaam Maritime Institute (DMI) and developing specialized hazardous cargo handling facilities at Mtwara Port signals a strategic pivot toward modernising critical infrastructure that has long constrained regional competitiveness. The relocation of DMI from its current waterfront location in Dar es Salaam represents more than administrative reshuffling—it enables the expansion of Dar es Salaam Port's capacity at a moment when regional trade volumes demand it. As East Africa's busiest maritime gateway, handling approximately 90% of Tanzania's container traffic, Dar es Salaam has operated near theoretical capacity for years. The port's inability to expand berth facilities has created a bottleneck affecting supply chains across Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. By freeing premium port real estate for additional berthing infrastructure, Tanzania directly addresses one of East Africa's most pressing logistics constraints. The second initiative—specialized hazardous cargo handling at Mtwara Port—tackles an entirely different market gap. Currently, bulk and hazardous materials handling in southern Tanzania relies on outdated infrastructure