East Africa Gateway Limited, which is a newly-incorporated company registered in the United Arab Emirates has been awarded a deal to operate the Dar-es-salaam Port’s container terminal.
The Tanzania Ports Authority is yet to make official announcement regarding the new development but the country’s Fair Competition Commission (FCC) reveals that Gautam Adani one of the world’s richest men, has bought the Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (TICTS).
According to the FCC, Adani International Ports Holdings Pte Ltd (AIPH) has been contracted to operate four container handling berths (8 to 11) as service provider at the Dar es Salaam harbour.
The value of the deal was not publicly disclosed and the acquisition is still subject to regulatory approval by Tanzania’s Fair Competition Commission (FCC).
Adani International Ports Holdings owned by Gautam Adani, with founding directors in the persons of Nazir Karamagi and Yogesh Manek acquired the running of TICTS through its subsidiary East Africa Gateway Limited.
Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) invited bids in August last year for companies to operate the container terminal at the Port of Dar es Salaam, but is yet to make a formal announcement on the award of the contract.
TICTS, which was majority owned by Hutchison Ports of Hong Kong, operated the container terminal at the Dar es Salaam port for 22 years until the government’s decision last year not to renew the firm’s contract.
This means that Adani’s acquisition of TICTS could pave the way for TICTS to make another return as operator of the container terminal at the Dar es Salaam port, but under different ownership.
On the other hand the FCC said it was reviewing and investigating the proposed merger of East Africa Gateway Ltd and TICTS to “examine whether it is likely to harm competition.”
If the deal is approved, East Africa Gateway Ltd will acquire the entire issued ordinary share capital in TICTS.
Documents from the Business Registration and Licensing Agency (BRELA) show that TICTS had an authorized share capital of 40 billion/-
Founding directors are listed as Nazir Karamagi (Tanzanian); Wing Kit Andy Tsoi (Chinese); Sin Ling Ruth Tsim (Canadian); Sing Chi Ip (Hong Kong); Yogesh Manek (Tanzanian); Edith Shih (British); Ivor Chow (Canadian) and Yee Hong Edison Eddie Lee (British).
In 2022, Adani Ports signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with AD Ports Group for strategic joint investments in end-to-end logistics infrastructure and solutions, which include rail, maritime services, port operations, digital services, an industrial zone and the establishment of maritime academies in Tanzania.
Tanzania also last year awarded a contract to Dubai-based ports giant DP World to operate eight berths at the Dar es Salaam port (berths 0-7).
The government wants to upgrade infrastructure at the main port of Dar es Salaam and improve efficiency to compete with rival ports, including Kenya’s Mombasa port.
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