Standard Chartered Inks $2.33 Billion Mega-Deal to Complete Tanzania SGR

Tanzania Standard Gauge Railway financing arranged by Standard Chartered covers more than $US 2.33bn. It covers three remaining sections of the 1219km Dar es Salaam – Mwanza Phase 1 corridor. This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Lots 3 and 4 cover 430km between Makutupora and Isaka. According to International Railway Journal, the package includes $US 1.32bn. That amount is export credit agency (ECA) financing. The ECA financing was signed in 2025 and 2026. These sections are under construction by Yapi Merkezi. In addition, they are backed by $US 462m in long-term financing. That financing came from commercial banks and development finance institutions. The signing took place in 2023.

Standard Chartered acted as sole lender for Tanzania’s Ministry of Finance. The ECA-backed facilities include support from Sweden’s EKN and SEK, Poland’s KUKE and Italy’s SACE.

How the Tanzania Standard Gauge Railway financing is structured?

Lot 5 covers the 249km section from Isaka to Mwanza. It is being delivered by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC). Construction is financed through a $US 559m covered facility drawn in 2025. Chinese ECA Sinosure provided the facility. Also, Standard Chartered acted as sole global lender for this package.

Together, the financing described above covers lots 3, 4 and 5. These lots cover the remaining Phase 1 sections between Makutupora and Mwanza.

Previously, Standard Chartered arranged $US 1.46bn in ECA-led loan financing. The financing was for lots 1 and 2. Those sections run for 550km from the port of Dar es Salaam to Makutupora. The route passes through Morogoro and Dodoma. Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) began regular passenger services in July 2024. The services run between Dar es Salaam and Dodoma.

Standard Chartered’s role in the SGR programme

Reuters also reported that Standard Chartered arranged the $US 2.33bn syndicated financing facility. The facility was for Tanzania’s Standard Gauge Railway project.

“We are committed to helping finance the delivery of large-scale infrastructure to support sustainable growth in Africa, and we are excited for this railway project to position Tanzania as a premier logistics hub, boosting regional trade and job creation,” says Herman Kasekende, CEO and head of coverage at Standard Chartered Tanzania.

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