Achievements on the Central Corridor

The main road networks of the Central Corridor are in perfect condition with an exception of a few road sections which are under construction as well

Police Road Blocks have been reduced to roughly 3 from 53 roadblocks in 2010. Business cards with police contacts in all regions are being distributed to all truck drivers for them to report incidences of violations.

Introduction of Electronic Cargo tracking system for all types of cargo – as a result trucks no longer stop at all 4 revenue check point along the corridor

One Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) on all major borders being constructed – Rusumo, Mutukula, Kabanga/Kobero. All OSBPs are all operational since 2016.

Rwanda and Tanzania launched a new modern Rusumo International bridge with the capacity of 400 tonnes in August 2014 replacing the old bridge that could only support 56 tonnes inauguration ceremony was held in March 2016 together with the opening of the Rusumo OSBPs by Presidents HE. Dr. John P Magufuli and H.E. Paul Kagame of Tanzania and Rwanda respectively . The international bridge stretching 82 metres is meant to reduce traffic on the old bridge which has been there for 40 years. The project was funded by Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) at a cost of $8.6m.

  • Through an initiate of the Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency, 3 One Stop Inspection Stations (OSIS) are under  construction between Dar es Salaam port and Rusumo border post  at Vigwaza, Manyoni and Nyakanazi. (Construction has already started at Manyoni and Nyakanazi ) The project supported by TMEA, EU and World Bank, if completed will allow transit trucks to stop at only 3 stops (where all cargo/truck inspections by Revenue Authorities, Weigh bridges and Police will be done simultaneously) instead of stopping at all 8 weigh bridges, 3 Tanzania Revenue Authority check points and police check points. The main benefits of collocating and coordinate these respective checks at the One Stop Inspection Stations include;
  • While waiting for the completion of OSIS trucks are stopping in only 3 weigh bridges of Vigwaza in Coastal Region, Njuki in Singida and Rusahunga in Kagera region istead of exissting 8 weigh bridges .
  • Transit time between Dar Port and exit borders  has been reduced to average of 3 days from initially 5 in 2014

i. Reducing the time and cost of transporting transit goods along the Central Corridor by only requiring transit trucks to stop at 3   locations along the central corridor. According to the Government of Tanzania’s transport lab recommendations named: “Big Results Now” (BRN) Initiative the project will reduce the number of official checks for Transit Trucks from 17 to 3 along the Central Corridor.

ii. Improving road safety by reducing accidents caused by tired drives.

iii.Reducing road congestion brought about by trucks parked along the roadside and

iv. Introducing electronically linked weigh in motion weighbridges to reduce truck weighing times

  • The CCTTFA launched the Central Corridor Transport Observatory for monitoring the corridor performance.
  • Dar es Salaam Port DWELL time has been slightly reduced to 6.95 days in year 2016 from 7.21 days of 2015
  • After the OSBPs became operational in 2015-16, time spent for trucks has been cut by more than 50%
  • VISA fees between Tanzania/Uganda and DRC has been dropped to 50USD for one month from 100USD for 7 days

The Transport Observatory:

What

The Central Corridor Transport Observatory is a web based monitoring tool developed to:

– Intake stakeholders’ computerized, GPS and SMS data,

– Process the collected data,

– Generate performance indicators,

Why

The Central Corridor Transport Observatory was developed to assist to:

– Identify causes and effects of bottlenecks,

– Formulate policies.

– Evaluate the impacts of programs and policies

  • The CCTTFA Developed the Communications & Advocacy Strategies to guide the Secretariat’s communication and advocacy
  • The CCTTFA Secretariat developed a 5 year strategic and 3 year Business Plans 2015-2020
  • The TTFA in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Community for Africa (UNECA) and United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCATD) formed Central Corridor National Clusters in Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania. The UNCTAD Cluster modal brings together stakeholders both Control Authorities and all stakeholders involved in transit logistics facilitation. The Cluster members in the three countries were introduced to transit transport corridor analysis and trained on two transit transport management methodologies, namely:

i. The Cluster Development methodology developed by UNCTAD. This is a collaborative approach that brings together stakeholders involved in transit transport to share information, identify challenges and coordinate their facilitation measures;

ii. The Time/Cost Distance Methodology, developed by UNESCAP to assess and monitor the performance of transit transport operations.

The Objectives of the Central Corridor National Clusters:

The TTFA secretariat regularly engages the national clusters to collectively identify trade & transit transport bottlenecks and work together to find solutions. In this context, the project established Central Corridor national clusters as long-term collaborative mechanisms and regular monitoring operational structures using the Time/Cost-Distance methodology on a continuous basis.

  • Dar es Salaam Port container dwell time has from 29 days in 2008 to now an average of 6.95 days
  • Implementation of Single Customs Territory was launched in July 2014 at the Central Corridor and already the roll out is contributing to;

– The reduction of Cargo clearance delays,

– clearance costs,

– eliminated multiple customs declarations,

– bond securities

– and ultimately ensuring seamless flow of goods along the corridor.