Tanzania gets boost for construction of railway line

Plans for the construction of a 2,190-kilometre central railway line to standard gauge form are now up for implementation as Chinese Exim Bank has agreed to give a soft loan of US$7.6 US dollars (about 16 trillion/-) to finance the project.

State House stated that the amount is enough to cover construction of 2,190 kilometres. The project is expected to start this financial year as the government has also set aside about 1tri/- from the current budget for the purpose.

Once completed, it is expected that the project will revolutionise Tanzania’s economy and other countries in Eastern and Central Africa including Burundi, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The first phase will constitute the construction of the railway line from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza via Isaka and Tabora.

Exim Bank president, Liu Liang, meeting President John Magufuli said that, apart from the funds, the bank would cooperate with Tanzania in exchanging experience and skills on the construction of the railway and its management. He praised Dr Magufuli for “his true desire to bring development to the country. We will accord the needed cooperation,” Liu pledged.

Recently, Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania, Dr Lu Youqing, assured President Magufuli that the Chinese government, its financial organisations and other companies will give their total support towards the implementation of the project.