Tanzania: Govt Upbeat on SGR Progress

By Katare Mbashiru

Dodoma — DAR ES SALAAM-MOROGORO travellers could soon enjoy the fastest voyage aboard electric train as the...

first part of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) edges closer to its completion.

Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, Dr Hassan Abbas told a news conference here yesterday that the project has reached 75 per cent.

He insisted the construction of the first-ever SGR was progressing well, rubbishing some political proponents who were misleading people that the construction of SGR from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro and that of Morogoro to Makutupora in Singida had stalled due to financial hiccups.

According to Dr Abbas who doubles as the government spokesperson, so far the government has dished out 2.957tril/- for the two projects, adding that the Morogoro- Makutupora project had reached 30 per cent.

"From tomorrow (today) Permanent Secretaries and their deputies from different ministries will begin a working tour to inspect the two projects from Dodoma all the way to Dar es Salaam," he said.

He said the PSs will have two days to assess the implementation of the project as well as identifying various prospects that are likely to benefit their respective ministries after the electric rail starts its routes.

The completion of phase one of the grand project means that people travelling between Dar es Salaam and Morogoro will have every reason to smile as it will take hardly a little more than an hour to reach their destination.

The SGR, the first of its kind in East and Central Africa, using electricity to power locomotives, has capacity to accommodate passenger trains travelling at 160 kilometers per hour.

Tanzania made the decision to construct the 2,561 Kilometer Standard Gauge Railway network that links Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Kigoma, Katavi and neighbouring countries of Rwanda, Burundi, and DRC.

As per the contract details, the company undertaking the 2.7tri/- Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project, Yapi Merkez, was to handover the complete project by November last year.

However, Dr Abbas insisted yesterday that the unprecedented delays to hand over the project were caused by rains that forced the engineers to wait until the weather condition was okay.

The first phase of the 1.215 billion US dollar (about 2.7tri/-) SGR project was expected to be completed in November 2019.

In April 2017, President John Magufuli laid the foundation stone for the construction of the first historic electric train, with the capacity to transport 10,000 tonnes of cargo at once, with the potential of creating over one million jobs upon completion.

It will also comprise 300-kilometre railway line, with 205 kilometres being the main line and 95 kilometres intersections.

At the news conference, Dr Abbas took a swipe at some people who were misleading the public that the two projects had stalled because the government had no money.

He said the government was well committed to implementing all the strategic projects, insisting the country's financial muscles remained strong to accomplish the mission.

Construction of the strategic SGR network consists of five phases covering 1,219 Kilometers long main track.

Phase 1: Dar es Salaam - Morogoro (Km 300), phase 2; Morogoro- Makutupora (Km 422), phase 3; Makutupora -Tabora (Km 294), phase 4; Tabora - Isaka (Km 130), Phase 5; Isaka - Mwanza ( Km 249).