Browsing: Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA).

• China commits to refurbishing TAZARA railway system during the just concluded FOCAC Summit in Beijing.
• China Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation (CCECC) has been awarded the tender.
• TAZARA capacity is now set to increase to two million metric tonnes.

TAZARA, a decades-old China-Tanzania railway that is vital in the East African country’s industry is set for modernization as a new pact to turn it into a fast train transportation system comes into force. Last week, a historic milestone was reached when Chinese President Xi Jinping, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to revitalize the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) railway.

The deal, which was reached at the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit (FOCAC) in Beijing, will see China invest into developing the1,860-kilometer railway connecting landlocked Zambia to Tanzania’s port city of Dar es Salaam.

Work on this trans-Africa rail …

In the most recent development, an additional 282km of the railway are being constructed to connect Tanzania and Burundi giving the latter access to East Africa biggest and busiest port.

The construction is an extension of the already laid down Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Tanzania. The two governments have signed an agreement that paves way for new rail to be laid at a sum of US$900 million.

What does this extension mean for Burundi and how will it benefit Tanzania?

Apart from the obvious economic benefits, let’s first consider the small towns through which the railway snakes. From Tanzania’s little town of Uvinza in the Kigoma region to the bustling capital city of Gitega in Burundi, the railway is expected to spark life, rejuvenate slowed businesses and build new people relations.…