Time Release Study Plus (TRS+) for the Port of Dar Es Salaam

SELECTION OF CONSULTING FIRMS BY THE WORLD BANK GROUP REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI) Electronic Submissions through WBGeProcure RFx Now ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW Assignment Title: Time Release Study Plus (TRS+) for the Port of Dar Es Salaam Assignment Countries: Tanzania ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION Reducing the time and cost associated with Customs clearance, border regulatory procedures, and port logistics is essential to improving Tanzania's trade competitiveness and facilitating regional and international trade. The Port of Dar es Salaam serves as Tanzania's principal maritime gateway and a critical logistics hub for transit trade along the Central Corridor, connecting landlocked countries to international markets. Improving the efficiency of cargo clearance and port operations is therefore a priority for reducing trade costs, enhancing supply chain reliability, and supporting private sector development. These efforts are also aligned with Tanzania's commitments under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and relevant international standards and best practices. The World Bank, under the Facilitating Tanzania Private Sector Growth for Jobs program (P513385), intends to support the Government of Tanzania in undertaking a comprehensive Time Release Study Plus (TRS+) at the Port of Dar es Salaam and its adjacent cargo clearance facilities. Building on the World Customs Organization (WCO) Time Release Study methodology, the TRS+ will extend beyond traditional Customs clearance measurements to capture the full sequence of regulatory, administrative, and logistics processes associated with import, export, and transit operations, including procedures undertaken before cargo arrival and activities performed by port operators and other service providers. The primary objective of the assignment is to conduct a comprehensive TRS+ to generate statistically robust and comparable measurements of the time required to complete end-to-end import, export, and transit clearance processes at the Port of Dar es Salaam. The study will measure processing times across Customs, other Cross-Border Regulatory Agencies (CBRAs), port operators, and relevant logistics service providers, including the time required to obtain Licenses, Permits, Certificates, and Other regulatory approvals (LPCOs). The assessment will cover the full clearance process, from the initial submission of regulatory applications by traders or their agents to the physical exit of cargo from the port. The study will identify procedural, institutional, and operational bottlenecks contributing to cargo clearance delays, port congestion, and elevated trade transaction costs. It will assess progress in implementing recommendations from previous Time Release Studies, where applicable, and formulate targeted, evidence-based recommendations to simplify, harmonize, and streamline clearance procedures in line with international best practices. The findings will provide an analytical foundation for prioritizing trade facilitation reforms, improving interagency coordination, and strengthening the overall efficiency and predictability of cargo movements through the Port of Dar es Salaam. The assignment will cover import, export, and transit operations at the Port of Dar es Salaam and its adjacent clearance facilities, including Inland Container Depots (ICDs) and dry ports involved in the clearance process. The Consultant will undertake comprehensive data collection and analysis using the WCO TRS methodology, supplemented by detailed Business Process Mapping (BPM) of regulatory, documentary, inspection, payment, and logistics procedures. The assessment will cover the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA), Tanzania Shipping Agencies Corporation (TASAC), and other relevant border regulatory agencies and private sector operators. The Consultant will develop statistically representative sampling arrangements, quantify end-to-end and disaggregated processing times, examine the performance of Authorized Economic Operators (AEOs), and assess the interaction between public and private sector processes. The Consultant will prepare detailed “As-Is” and “To-Be” business process maps separately for import, export, and transit regimes, together with comprehensive mappings of the documents and information flows involved. The analysis will identify unnecessary procedures, duplication, coordination failures, and other sources of inefficiency, and propose actionable recommendations for procedural simplification, regulatory harmonization, operational improvements, and digitalization. The assignment will also review the implementation status of previous TRS recommendations, where applicable, and include knowledge transfer and capacity-building activities for relevant government agencies and the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC), with the objective of strengthening local capacity to undertake future Time Release Studies indepen