Tanzania Pledges Cargo Scanner for Zanzibar’s Fumba Port
Tanzania · TRADE
Key Facts
—Scanner pledge: TRA Commissioner General Yusuph Juma Mwenda toured Fumba Port on 15 August 2026. He pledged a modern cargo scanner to speed clearance and facilitate trade.
—Port capacity: Zanzibar Ports Corporation says Fumba will handle about 40 containers an hour on completion. It expects 350 metres of quay on each side.
—Ownership: Fumba Ports Limited runs both Fumba and Mkoani. Coverage describes it as Kenyan-owned and links it to Bulk Stream Logistics, though no filing confirming the parent has been published.
—Investment figures: The ports corporation records “over US$6 million” for the first phase. President Mwinyi has given US$15 million. The two figures have never been set against each other in public.
—National scanner programme: TRA has pledged 57 scanners worth about US$90 million, announced in January 2026.
—Completion timing: The ports corporation points to February 2027 for full operation. Xinhua has reported January 2027.
TRA chief Yusuph Juma Mwenda visited Fumba Port on 15 August 2026. He pledged a modern cargo scanner to boost Zanzibar’s trade capacity.
TRA chief pledges scanner at Fumba Port
Tanzania Revenue Authority Commissioner General Yusuph Juma Mwenda toured Fumba Port on Saturday 15 August 2026. He pledged to install a modern cargo scanner there.
“The construction of Fumba Port will further open up Zanzibar economically,” Mwenda said. “Once completed, the port will have the capacity to handle a large number of containers.”
The scanner would speed clearance, facilitate trade and broaden the tax base, he added. Zanzibar Ports Corporation Director General Akif Ali Khamis and Zanzibar Customs Brokers Association chairman Omar Hussein Mussa accompanied him.
Khamis said the port will handle about 40 containers an hour on completion. It will have 350 metres of quay on each side by February 2027.
That date conflicts with a January 2027 completion reported by Xinhua, Chinese state media. Neither figure has been reconciled publicly.
Fumba Port ownership and scale
Zanzibar’s Presidential Delivery Bureau states that Fumba Ports Limited is a subsidiary of Bulk Stream Logistics of Kenya. It manages both Fumba and Mkoani ports, with about 15,000 TEUs expected across the two in its first year.
Malindi/Zanzibar Port operates under a management services agreement with African Global Logistics, a French company. The arrangement separates the two facilities’ operators.
ZPC’s live project page records the investor’s commitment at “over US$6 million” for a 4.96-hectare site. The site has capacity for 3,000 TEUs.
President of Zanzibar and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi, put the first phase at US$15 million. That quote came via the state-owned Daily News in January 2024.
Neither figure has been reconciled publicly. The operator’s current figure conflicts with the older one.
Trade impact projections differ
Zanzibar’s Presidential Delivery Bureau says the Fumba investment aims to raise container and cargo throughput by about 25 to 30 percent. The state-owned Daily News put the share at 12 to 20 percent.
The two figures have not been reconciled. The facility remains under construction, so no outcome has been achieved yet.
A Sh1 trillion regional port infrastructure package was announced in August 2025. The source’s primary figure is over US$400 million; 1 trillion shillings equals about US$378 million at today’s rate.
The shilling figure has drifted from the dollar amount, so they are not equivalent today. Xinhua reported the US$30 million CRJE contract, the January 2027 date and the 30,000 to 50,000 tonne design change.
TRA revenue and scanner programme
TRA says monthly revenue collection has risen from 800 billion shillings (about US$303 million) to 1.2 trillion shillings (about US$454 million). It attributes the rise to tighter enforcement and technology investment generally, not scanners specifically.
Mwenda announced a national programme of 57 scanners worth about US$90 million at International Customs Day on 27 January 2026. TRA has also pledged a scanner for Mkoani Port on Pemba.
The one Western-funded scanner sits at Tunduma on the Zambian border, about 1,000 km away. No Western donor has funded anything at Fumba.
Current throughput and processing goals
By August 2025, Fumba Port had received 5,239 containers and exported 3,281. That year-to-date figure came from Ahmed Suleiman Nassor, Secretary General of the Zanzibar Customs Agents Association.
A 2024 Zanzibari government document targeted 1-to-2-day processing times. That target had a 2024 timeline, and no public report confirms it was met.
Two numbers that do not agree
Two things about this project are worth stating plainly rather than smoothing over.
The first is the money. The ports corporation’s own project page records the investor’s first-phase commitment as more than US$6 million, for a site of just under five hectares with room for 3,000 containers. President Hussein Mwinyi has spoken of US$15 million. Neither side has published a breakdown, so it is not possible to say whether these are the same money counted differently or two different things.
The second is the date. The ports corporation points to February 2027 for full operation; Xinhua has reported January 2027. A month either way matters little to a shipper, but it tells you the schedule is being described from more than one desk.
We report both versions because both are on the record, and neither is obviously the better one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Fumba Port located?
Fumba Port sits on the southwest coast of Unguja Island in Zanzibar.
Who is building the Fumba Port expansion?
China Railway Jianchang Engineering Company East Africa Ltd holds the US$30 million initial contract, per Xinhua. Completion is scheduled for January 2027, though ZPC cites February 2027.
How many cargo scanners has the Tanzania Revenue Authority deployed?
TRA has invested in 57 specialised cargo scanners worth about US$90 million. They cover border posts and ports across Tanzania, as of January 2026.
What did TRA’s chief pledge at Fumba Port?
Mwenda pledged a modern cargo scanner on 15 August 2026 to speed clearance and facilitate trade.
Connected Coverage
For deeper analysis of how port infrastructure and customs technology fit into African trade corridors, read Africa: The New Scramble.
Sources
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