Tanzania has signed a $2.2-billion contract with a Chinese company to build a 2,561-kilometre railway line.
The line will link the Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam to Mwanza on Lake Victoria, with eventual spurs to Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Uganda, according to reports by the AFP.
Construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Tabora to Kigoma in western Tanzania will be completed in 2026, according to President Samia Suluhu.
“Upon completion of the SGR, Tanzania will be in a better position to utilise its strategic geographical positioning to facilitate cross-border trade,” she said.
Currently, Tanzania’s investment in the SGR has now reached $10.04 billion, including the latest contract.
“We have to borrow for this important infrastructure and other sustainable development projects because we don’t have enough local resources,” she said, dismissing criticism that the country was taking on too much debt.
The new investment will see cargo transportation costs between the Dar es Salaam port and the DRC reduce from a minimum of $6,000 per tonne to about $4,000 once it becomes fully operational.
Meanwhile, transportation time would fall from 30 days by truck to 30 hours in 2027.
Reporting by AFP.
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