PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan announced on Tuesday that an investor has expressed interest in financing a 367-kilometre Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) link connecting Uvinza, a town in western Tanzania, and Gitega, a city in Burundi.
The announcement comes two months after Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC) invited bids for the construction of the line. Bids were due in November 15 of this year.
“There is already someone who has come forward who wants to construct this railway, who will spend his money—this is not a loan—and in exchange, we will agree to refund the investor on the transportation of his consignment when it is finished,” President Samia stated.
She added, “So let us count that the Uvinza-Msongati railway already has a financier and when we are ready, we will sign a deal with the investor to begin construction,”.
In a speech at the signing ceremony in Dar es Salaam for the second phase of the SGR lot six from Tabora to Kigoma, Ms Samia said the project has been in the pipeline since January this year when the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on an initial cost estimate of 900 million US dollars (about 2.1tril/-).
However, the Head of State did not reveal the name of the investor, but once completed, the route will transport over a million tonnes of cargo between the two East African countries.
Each year, the railway line will carry over three million tonnes of minerals from Burundi to Tanzania. The project is expected to cut down transportation expenses, promote industrialisation and boost the regional economy.
The line features 85km of siding/passing loops and 282km of the main railway line. Lot 1 will span a distance of 180 kilometres within Tanzania, from Uvinza to Malagarasi. Lot 2 on the other hand will span a distance of 187 kilometres from Musongati to Gitega.
President Samia went on to say that the main goal was to connect Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“Of course, the Tabora-Kigoma railway and the Uvinza-Musongati-Gitega-Kindu railway will open up Tanzania and connect it with the DRC on its eastern side, where there is a lot of cargo that needs to be transported to the world market,”
“Currently, the cost of transporting one container from the port of Dar es Salaam to the DRC is estimated to reach 6000 – 15,000 US dollars, depending on where the cargo is going within the DRC and it takes more than a month,” Ms Samia said.
But if this railway is completed in 2027, she said they expect the transportation costs will decrease to 4,000 US dollars and the travel time will be 27-30 hours.
“It is my expectation that the infrastructure we are improving will help stimulate trade between the countries that use our ports and Asian countries. This is also an opportunity for Tanzania to benefit from its geographical position,” she noted.
President Samia urged Tanzanians to be grateful to God and the government for their efforts in achieving the essential aim of promoting their well-being, noting that transportation used to take more than a week, but that it now takes only a few hours to reach various parts of the nation.
Earlier, Minister for Works and Transport, Prof Makame Mbarawa said for the financial year 2022/2023, the railway sub-sector was allocated 1.19tril/- to continue with railway construction, repair and purchase of railway equipment.
Prof Mbarawa said that the construction of the railway for the first phase is progressing well and the signing of the Tabora-Kigoma section has coincided with the completion of a total of 2,102 kilometres of SGR throughout the country, Tanzania sets a new record for having the longest railway network of SGR in Africa.
“I congratulate Tanzanians through the government you lead for starting early to implement Agenda 2063 of the African Union, which calls for African countries to have an SGR network,” he noted.
He further said when President Samia came to power, the construction of SGR was being implemented in two parts of Dar es Salaam – Morogoro and Morogoro – Makutupora with a total of 722 kilometres and in two years the government has commenced implementing the four parts of Makutupora-Tabora, Tabora-Isaka, Isaka-Mwanza and Tabora – Kigoma that makes 1,380 kilometres long.
“The contractors are progressing well with the construction on all the lots and their claims are on time according to the certificate of payment they submit,” he said.
In terms of the purchase of work tools, the government has already invested 1.29tril/-, the contribution of the railway will be large and will enable the port of Dar es Salaam to face competition from other ports and bring productivity to our country, according to Prof Mbarawa.
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