His Excellency Dr. Habib Kambanga, High Commissioner of the United Republic of Tanzania to Rwanda on Wednesday visited Isaka Dry Port,  a Kahama based  sub-port of Dar es salaam port, which has been developed to serve the Great Lakes region.  During the visit, Ambassador Kambanga held a meeting with both public and private  transport entities that operate Isaka Dry Port namely, Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), Tanzania Railway Cooperation (TRC), Land Transport Regulatory Authority (LATRA), Tanzania Shipping Agency (TASAC), Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA)  and  GSM company on ways to enhance efficiency and convenience.

It can be recalled that the recently, the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania inaugurated the port to rail  for Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) based cargo with the intention of cutting travel time, enhancing efficiency and boosting trade. The decision follows the launching of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in June 2025. Under the referred arrangement, Great Lakes Cargo is in future expected to be transported from Dar es Salaam Port through SGR to Bahi before being loaded into Meter Gauge Railway (MGR) to Isaka Dry Port.  Speaking during the meeting, Ambassador Kambanga indicated that it is imperative that all the operational issues including timely communication and coordination are addressed and customers are informed.  He stressed on the importance of research prior to any major logistical decision to ensure reliability, smooth functioning of the port and avoidance of unnecessary costs. The meeting was informed that TRC has ordered new cargo locomotives whereby the plan is to ensure that cargo reaches Isaka  Dry Port in 24 hours.

It should be known that in 2025/2026 Dar es salaam port handled 33.71 million tonnes of cargo which was a record high, up 21.5% year-on-year. In  the 2024/2025 financial year, the port recorded 27.7 million tonnes , up from 23.69 million tonnes in 2023/24. Of the 33.71M tonnes ,  2.18M tonnes was transported to Rwanda.