China, Tanzania and Zambia have struck a deal for the upgrading of the ageing Tanzania-Zambia railway line.
Officials from the three countries signed an initial memorandum of understanding for the upgrading of the rail network, on the sidelines of the China-Africa Summit in Beijing last week.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema were present to witness the signing of the agreement, which calls for the revitalisation of the railway from the port of Dar es Salaam to Zambia’s copperbelt in Kapiri-Mposhi.
Construction of the existing 1 858 km single-track Tanzania-Zambia railway was completed by China in 1976 but decades of under-investment have led to the line remaining poorly maintained, significantly reducing its operational efficiency.
The state-owned China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation has been appointed to conduct a technical inspection of the rail network, to prepare a proposal to revitalise the line. The proposal will be submitted to the shareholders of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority. The railway is jointly owned by the governments of Tanzania and Zambia.
The agreement to revamp the railway network will benefit Chinese companies that have sunk investments into Zambia’s copperbelt to gain access to raw materials for the manufacturing of electrical vehicles.
Zambia has been exporting much of its copper through the Port of Durban, however with an improved railway to Tanzania, the Port of Dar es Salaam will be able to gain a greater market share.
Meanwhile, the development of a multi-modal transport network connecting landlocked Zambia to Tanzania has also gained traction. Earlier this year, the World Bank announced a pledge of $270 million to support the massive road and rail upgrade project.
