KIGALI, Rwanda — In a major move to boost regional trade and eliminate costly logistical bottlenecks, Rwanda and Tanzania have signed a bilateral agreement to open a Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) liaison office in Kigali.
The agreement, signed on July 25, 2025, is slated for full implementation during the 2026/2027 financial year. It aims to completely overhaul how Rwandan traders interact with the Port of Dar es Salaam—a critical lifeline for landlocked Rwanda, which relies heavily on two primary overland import networks: the Northern Corridor through Kenya’s Mombasa port via Uganda, and the Central Corridor, where goods move by road directly from Tanzania into Rwanda.
High-value or urgent items are typically bypassed via air freight through Kigali International Airport.
Why This Matters
For non-coastal country like Rwanda’s, reducing transport costs and logistical delays is a matter of national economic survival. Historically, Rwandan traders have faced immense financial burdens, relying on expensive clearing agents or enduring weeks of bureaucratic delays while shipments sat at regional maritime hubs.
By decentralizing Dar es Salaam’s port services to Kigali, this pact effectively shifts the competitive balance toward the Central Corridor. It bypasses the multi-country transit complexities of the Northern Corridor, offering local businesses a faster, more predictable supply chain that will ultimately lower the retail price of consumer goods and raw manufacturing materials inside Rwanda.
Once fully operational, the Kigali-based liaison office will allow Rwandan cargo clients using this Central Corridor route to track and clear their shipments locally. This eliminates the historical burden of traveling to Tanzania for procedures that previously required a physical presence. The transition is heavily backed by technology, with over 90% of Dar es Salaam port services now fully digitized.
Officials state that the initiative is projected to slash Central Corridor cargo clearance and processing times by more than 80% compared to competing regional routes. The efficiency gains are expected to solidify Dar es Salaam’s position as one of the fastest and most reliable commercial hubs on the African continent.
The breakthrough follows a period of intense, high-level diplomatic engagement between the two East African neighbors.
Earlier this May, the leaders of both nations traded state visits to strengthen bilateral ties. Rwandan President Paul Kagame traveled to Tanzania for closed-door talks with President Samia Suluhu Hassan. Shortly thereafter, President Samia visited Kigali on May 19 to attend a high-level summit on nuclear energy.
For Rwandan businesses, the localized port office represents a massive victory, promising to significantly lower the cost of doing business and streamline supply chains across the East African Community (EAC).
