Dar es Salaam port to operate around the clock.

Muonekano wa Bandari ya Dar.

The Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) signed on Monday (February 10th) an agreement with stakeholders in the Dar es Salaam port to keep the port open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Tanzania's The Citizen reported.

The agreement is part of the government's Big Results Now initiative and also brings new standard operating procedures into effect.

"This commitment now means that all stakeholders will operate 24 hours throughout the year," said TPA Acting Director General Madeni Kipande.

The new operating schedule is expected to increase the port's competitiveness by speeding up clearance time for goods with the intention of attracting more business and boosting Tanzania's economy.

Even as they signed the agreement, however, some of the stakeholders held reservations.

Recommendations made at a stakeholders' meeting last month, including the imposition of a fine for late transactions, were not incorporated into the final document, said President of the Tanzania Freight Forwarders Association Steven Ngatunga.

"We came up with recommendations and formed a committee that could incorporate them by mid-last month, but nothing has been done," he said. "Today, we have been called to sign the document which may mean the commitment to hang ourselves."