Egypt and Tanzania are preparing a memorandum of understanding to develop a multi-purpose terminal at the port of Dar es Salaam, as part of a partnership on maritime transport and logistics. The project also includes a maritime link between the Egyptian ports of Sokhna and Safaga and Tanzania, as well as the establishment of logistics zones in both countries.
Egyptian and Tanzanian Transport Ministers Kamel El-Wazir and Makame Mbarawa discussed these plans on 5 October 2026 during a meeting at the port of Alexandria in Egypt.
According to information provided by the Egyptian authorities, the partnership must be formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the preparation of which must involve technical committees.
The main project concerns the creation of a multipurpose terminal at the port of Dar es Salaam, which would be developed by an international Egyptian-Tanzanian consortium. The terms of concession, the planned investments and the schedule of work have not yet been specified.
The programme also includes a regular maritime link between the Egyptian ports of Sokhna and Safaga on the Red Sea and Dar es Salaam.
The two countries are also planning to create an Egyptian logistics zone in Tanzania and a Tanzanian zone in Egypt, with connections to rail networks.
The aim is to facilitate the transfer of goods between ports and domestic markets and then to serve the landlocked countries of East and Central Africa.
The implementation of this multimodal route will depend in particular on the commissioning of the maritime link, the compatibility of rail networks and the ability to attract sufficient cargo volumes.
The port of Dar es Salaam occupies an important place in regional trade. According to data from the project sources, it serves approximately 90 per cent of the Tanzanian domestic market and constitutes a gateway for several countries without access to the sea, including Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
However, the port is competing with other regional corridors, including those passing through Mombasa, Kenya. The development of a new terminal and additional links will therefore have to meet operators' needs for cost, timeliness and reliability.
This initiative is part of the Egyptian strategy to expand transport and logistics activities on the continent.
According to the Egyptian Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), Egypt's trade with African Union countries reached $6.1 billion in the first seven months of 2026, up 11.8% over one year.
