No cause for alarm over SGR, lorry owners told
In Summary
- The government says the standard-gauge railway is aimed at improving transport and not elbowing out other operators
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By Elizabeth Edward @TheCitizenTz
news@tz.nationmedia.com
Dar es Salaam. The government has allayed fears of possible collapse of road freight when the standard-gauge railway (SGR) becomes operational.
Industry, Trade and Investment minister Charles Mwijage told the Transporters Association of Tanzania annual general meeting yesterday that SGR would complement the transport business and not kick other operators out of the field.
He noted that once SGR becomes operational, the economy would be stimulated and efficiency enhanced, leading to more business to transporters.
“Don’t fear. Just be innovative, increase your efficiency and be prepared for more business when SGR becomes operational,” he said here.
Road freight is a huge business in Tanzania, with transporters serving the hinterland as well as landlocked countries in eastern and central Africa.
In Tanzania, road transport is the most widely used due to the poor state of railways.
It serves over 90 per cent of passengers and 75 per cent of the freight.
The meeting was expected to elect new leaders.
Outgoing president Zacharia Hans Poppe told the minister that transporters faced challenges of conflicting regulations.
Non-tariff barriers and lack of packing space for lorries were other problems, Mr Hans Poppe noted.
“Parking space is inadequate at the Dar es Salaam port especially at the gate 5, leading to frequent arrests of drivers by municipal authorities when they park in unauthorised areas,” he lamented.
Mr Mwijage promised transporters that the government would work on the challenges. He advised them to work together for the common cause.
Tanzania is constructing SGR to link the country to the neighbouring countries of Rwanda and Uganda, and through these two, to Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. SGR is intended to replace the old, inefficient metre-gauge railway system.
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