USD300m for Central Railway rehabilitation

By James Kandoya

World Bank

The World Bank has approved a US$300 million (about 485.4bn/-) soft loan to strengthen the Central Railway line which serves Tanzania and neighbouring countries.


According to a statement issued by the bank in Dar es Salaam yesterday, the funds will be used to strengthen the country’s central corridor, boosting the rail agencies' ability to manage the infrastructure, traffic operations and network regulation.

The project is the first step to the eventual upgrading and expansion of the broader central corridor transport network, the statement said.

"The location and size of Tanzania, its mineral and agricultural resources, tourism potential and critical role as a transport hub for its landlocked neighbours, provide unrivaled opportunities for the development of modern transport infrastructure and services,” said Philippe Dongier, the WB country Director for Tanzania.

"We are excited to support the government's efforts to rebuild its rail and intermodal transport system,” he said, adding: “The project will also indirectly help to boost agricultural trade, job creation and overall livelihoods for the country and neighboring countries' poorest people."

The financing will support the Intermodal and Rail Development Project designed to increase reliability of the railway infrastructure and train operations.
It will also revamp logistics at the port of Dar es Salaam and rail terminals apart from strengthening rail operations.

The funds will be spent on relaying rail tracks, building new intermodal terminals, repairing or reconstructing bridges and supporting institutional transformation of the sector.

Said Henry Des Longchamps the WB Task Team Lead for the project: "Besides constraining economic activity in Tanzania and reducing the competitiveness of the country's tradable sectors, poor infrastructure on the East African Central Corridor creates delays and high costs for transport of goods between Tanzania and its landlocked neighbors (Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda), as well as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)."

"The project will help to improve a critical link in the regional rail network that is necessary for both competitiveness and improved regional and global economic integration," he said.

The project contributes to the World Bank Group's (WBG) two broad goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity.

Rehabilitating and upgrading of the rail line will improve transport linkages for the population living in the western part of Tanzania. This is an area that has high concentration of agricultural activity.

For his part, Yonas Mchomvu, WB Co-Task Team Leader for the project said:
"The project will help increase transport capacity in Tanzania which will build competitive alternatives to road transport, and lead to greater traffic volumes that will facilitate the development of economic activities and job creation along the corridor areas."

The funds are from the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) which was established in 1960.

It helps the world's poorest countries by providing zero-interest loans and grants for projects and programmes that boost economic growth reduce poverty and improve poor people's lives.

IDA is among the largest sources of assistance for the world's 82 poorest countries, 40 of which are in Africa. Resources from IDA bring positive change for 2.5 billion people living on less than $2 a day.

Since 1960, IDA has supported development work in 108 countries. Annual commitments have increased steadily and averaged about $16 billion over the last three years, with about 50 percent of commitments going to Africa. 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN