HUGE investments in
infrastructural projects are among the top priorities of the fifth
phase government after assuming power five years ago, with a view to
revolutionising mobility and the
These projects are
reshaping the country in many ways. Improvement of roads has facilitated
public transport and transportation of goods that farmers and
businesspeople have benefitted from.
The construction of
the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), project, which started a few years
ago, will link the country's strategic regions and neighbouring
countries, including Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC) to cover the length of 1,800km.
This is a major breakthrough in rail transport in Tanzania since the country got independence in 1961.
It is evidently
that after road transport, rail transport follows as the most important
mode of transport in Tanzania and the rest of the East Africa region for
freight as well as passenger services.
The construction of
SGR will facilitate movements of people and goods in the country and in
the region which is crucial for robust economic growth.
With the speed of
160km per hour and capacity to ferry 17 million tonnes per annum, SGR is
an economical head-start to be translated into viable strategies to
boost networks, beneficial inter-regional passenger traffic and
employment opportunities lost in the past decade.
By deploying right
measures, being an efficient transportation mechanism, the modern
railway will reduce costs in many other sectors of the economy, namely
extraction, manufacturing and supply.
Transport sector
experts estimates that return the capital investment of about 5-20
percent per annum will be attracted when the project starts operating.
Data from the World
Bank shows in developing nations like Tanzania and other EAC member
states, higher income levels are associated with a greater share of
transportation.
The construction of
SGR is expected to spur interactions in production, costs and
consumption, thus the vitality of it could be reflected on each sector
of the economy, including construction and mining.
Wide markets can be
drawn through the reliable mobility of people and goods because
reliable transport will help production of raw materials and
distribution of finished goods, so businesspeople could move commodities
across the region through SGR.
In a country with
over 70 percent of its workforce engaging in agriculture, SGR is
expected to cut down transport costs of crops to markets, thus boosting
their earnings for improved living standards
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