Tanzania Receives $565m to Expand Port
Tanzania signed a $565 million deal on Friday with the World Bank and other development partners to expand its main port of Dar es Salaam, part of plans to boost the east African nation's role as a regional trade hub. Tanzania wants to lift capacity to 28 million tonnes a year by 2020 from the 14.6 million tonnes it handled in the financial year 2013/14. The World Bank said in May that inefficiencies at the port cost Tanzania and neighbours up to $2.6 billion a year. The port, whose main rival is the bigger but also congested port of Mombasa in Kenya, acts as a trade gateway for landlocked states such as Zambia, Rwanda, Malawi, Burundi and Uganda, as well as the eastern region of Democratic Republic of the Congo.
UK 'Floating Warehouse' Still Active in Philippine Relief
The Royal Navy’s amphibious aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious arrived in the Philippines on 25 November, 2013, after a short stop in Singapore to load up 500 tonnes of humanitarian aid under the direction of the UK Department for International Development (DFID). Teams of personnel have been working 24-hours-a-day in her hangar to sort and pack the much needed supplies, ready for distribution ashore, and the flight deck has been operating constantly since the 23,000-tonne ship arrived.
Royal Fleet Ship Deploys to Haiti
The UK sent a Royal Fleet Auxiliary supply ship loaded with aid to help with the relief operation in Haiti, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander has announced. The ship, RFA Largs Bay, was despatched at the request of the United Nations and sailed from the UK carrying relief supplies that will be needed by the people of Haiti in the weeks and months ahead. The ship will have the capacity to carry supplies provided by the Department for International Development and British and international NGOs (non-governmental organisations)…
