ZANZIBAR President Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi has affirmed the government’s readiness to collaborate with Indonesia’s state-owned port operator, Pelindo, to develop the Mangapwani multipurpose port.

A State House statement said here yesterday that the president made this affirmation when visiting Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta yesterday, where he held talks with the Pelindo management operating all ports in Indonesia.

Mangapwani is expected to make a significant contribution to national income as a vital gateway, so the government is working to implement initiatives to improve port services to stimulate development, he said.

The facility is a new cargo port designed to cater for needs in East Africa and wider markets, supporting Malindi port in meeting Zanzibar’s growing trading targets, he stated. 

The project involves the construction of berths for liquid bulk cargo, containers, fishing vessels, natural gas offshore services and workshop facilities, he said, pointing at intended grain storage, container handling, dry port, break-bulk terminal, and oil storage facilities.

Seeking to be competitive enough, the port is intended to be a transhipment hub, here importers can seek a range of strategic needs from the hub instead of scaling up Middle East and East Asia port cities, he explained.

He similarly dwelt on common potentials and challenges facing island nations in maritime transport, stressing the critical role of ports in enhancing such potential and using littoral location to enhance national economies.

The government is pursuing strategies to ensure Zanzibar ports make a significant contribution to our economy, he said, while Arif Suhartono, the firm’s CEO operating 71 port management branches across Indonesia, expressed optimism that the visit would pave the way for closer cooperation.

It may facilitate the setting up of a strategic partnership between Indonesia and Zanzibar, he said, backed by experience of the vast port management layout from Sumatra in the west to Papua in the east of the one thousand plus islands country.

The Isles leader concluded his visit to Indonesia as well as the tourist resort island of Bali, where he represented President Samia Suluhu Hassan at the Second Indonesia-Africa Forum, the statement added.