China, Tanzania, and Zambia Launch Major Project to Restore TAZARA Railway to Enhance Transportation in East Africa

China, Tanzania, and Zambia have signed a preliminary agreement on a significant railway project, this is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

The document concerns the restoration of the railway built several decades ago to improve transportation links in resource-rich East Africa.

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The Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Beijing during the China-Africa Cooperation Forum, attended by President Xi Jinping of China and the Presidents of Tanzania and Zambia.

The Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA), stretching 1,860 km, was constructed from 1970 to 1975 with an interest-free loan from China.

It facilitates the transportation of cargo from copper and cobalt mines in Zambia to the Tanzanian coast, bypassing South Africa and former Rhodesia. Commercial operations of the line began in 1976.

The project included the construction of numerous tunnels and bridges, carried out by tens of thousands of workers.

China aims to restore the Tanzania-Zambia Railway and also seeks to improve the network of rail-sea transport in East Africa, making Tanzania a hub for quality cooperation under the “Belt and Road” initiative. This will deepen the partnership between China and Africa.

Earlier this year, the World Bank approved funding of $270 million to improve transportation links between Tanzania and Zambia and stimulate regional trade.

In February, China proposed investing $1 billion in the reconstruction of the railway line using a public-private partnership model.

Photo: David Brossard, Wikimedia Commons

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