A drive to improve Tanzania’s transport infrastructure is gathering momentum, with billions of dollars of funding being put towards the development of the country’s rail network.
The initiative includes both an upgrade to existing tracks and new rail lines that will be laid along the country’s central transport corridor and beyond, with work slated to begin before the end of the current fiscal year in June.
Once completed, the project will provide Tanzania with an extensive standard-gauge railway network, which will not only reduce costs and delays for internal trade, but also have a similar impact on shipments between the Port of Dar es Salaam and neighbouring countries, such as Zambia, Burundi and Rwanda.
Developments will be largely financed by China’s Exim Bank, after the government signed a memorandum of understanding with the lender for the $7.6bn Central Corridor Railway (CCR) project, which will modernise 2190 km of the country’s existing rail network.
The route is an essential component of Tanzania’s main freight and passenger transport backbone, forming part of the Central Corridor of East and Central Eastern Africa, which connects the Port of Dar es Salaam by road, rail and inland waterways to Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Tanzania’s rail services have long been neglected, resulting in a steady decline of freight volumes. Currently, as is often the case in African markets, road networks handle the vast majority of internal distribution.
However, the government has signalled its intention to make the CCR a priority, setting aside $455m for the project in the 2016/17 budget to top up the funding from China.
Makame Mbarawa, Tanzania’s minister of works, transport and communications, said work on the project is scheduled to be carried out in four phases over a three-year period.
The initial stage will involve overhauling the existing one-metre-gauge track along the central corridor, which runs from Dar es Salaam to Kigoma Port on Lake Tanganyika in the west of the country and Mwanza on Lake Victoria in the north.
Once the upgraded line is operating, 460 km of new track will be constructed, linking the Tanzanian town of Isaka to Kigali in Rwanda. Plans also include a further extension into Burundi.
The Reli Assets Holding Company, a domestic firm tasked with developing and maintaining rail infrastructure, issued an invitation for bids at the end of November for the design and construction of the first section of track on the Dar es Salaam-Kigoma line between the port and Morogoro. Bidding closed on December 6, according to press reports.
Tanzania’s rail network is currently made up of two systems and 3676 km of track: the bulk of the lines are operated by Tanzania Railways (TR), while the Tanzania-Zambia southern line is run by the Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA).
According to the Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency (CCTTFA) – an intergovernmental organisation established by Tanzania, Uganda, the DRC, Rwanda and Burundi in 2006 to develop transport infrastructure along the corridor – both the CCR and the TAZARA line require major improvements.
Turnaround times for trains operating on the TR system currently stand at 18 days, well above the target 10-day schedule, in part due to the poor condition of large sections of the track, which has necessitated the introduction of speed restrictions.
The CCR’S benefits are expected to be far-reaching, particularly as it offers the shortest transport route to the Indian Ocean for the landlocked states of Rwanda, Burundi and the DRC.
In addition to increasing market access and creating jobs, the initiative is expected to reduce transport costs by an estimated $10.8bn over a 20-year period. Investment firm UNITY has said that it expects regional GDP growth to increase by 9%, three to four years after full completion of the rail project in Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.
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