MV Magogoni repair set for completion in December

DODOMA: THE repair of the infamous MV Magogoni is expected to be completed in December 2024 as the government affirmed that it will be thereafter brought to the country to offer services to Dar es Salaam residents.

The Deputy minister for Transport, Engineer Godfrey Kasekenya told the August house yesterday that with the return of the vessel, a sigh of relief was coming to residents of the country’s commercial capital plying from the region’s city centre to Kigamboni.

Eng Kasekenya was responding to a question posed by Kigamboni Member of Parliament (MP), Dr Faustine Ndugulile who had sought to know when the repair of the vessel would be completed.

Last year, MV Magogoni ferry, which ferries passengers in Dar es Salaam at the Kigamboni waterway, was taken to Mombasa, Kenya for major repairs.

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The German-built vessel manufactured in 2008 at a cost of 8bn/- is currently being repaired in Kenya at a cost of 3.2 million US dollars (about 8.3bn/-).

The Tanzania Electrical, Mechanical and Electronics Services Agency (TEMESA) floated a tender for the repair of the vessel on April 13, 2022 through the Tanzania National e-Procurement System (TANePS) where two tenderers including that of Songoro Marines were received.

The tenders were evaluated with African Marine recommended for the award of the tender by the evaluation committee.

In parliament yesterday, the deputy minister noted that the repair of the ferry was among the initiatives by the 6th phase government under President Samia Suluhu Hassan in strengthening transport infrastructures in the country.

With the reigniting of the much-awaited big vessel, residents in Dar es Salaam region will have to breathe a sigh of relief after hassle and bustles in the fight for their daily bread.