Port of Mtwara

The Mtwara Port was built during the British Colonial times in the city of Mtwara in southern Tanzania. The harbor at the Port of Mtwara was deepened during the colonial times by the British in 1948-1954, and a railway line was built connecting the port, as part of the Tanganyika groundnut scheme. Due to the failure of the scheme the port immediately lost value and the railway line was removed. The port was functional but underutilized for many years due to poor transport infrastructure, However, in the years of 2010-2011 the increased activity in oil and gas natural resources energy exploration caused a surge on operations. The Mtwara port is also an integral part of the Mtwara Development Corridor project and has recently seen major upgrades. The port also has a special economic zone attached to it and In December 2015 Alistair Freeports Limited injected $700,000 to upgrade the Export processing zone around the port area.