Tanzania launched a 541-km modern standard gauge railway on Thursday, linking its administrative and commercial capitals. Built by a Turkish firm, the railway is a key component of the government’s effort to upgrade transport infrastructure.
African governments have been accelerating the development of infrastructure, including roads, railways, and bridges.
However, some analysts have raised concerns about the loans from countries like China used to fund these projects, claiming that they may burden future generations with debt.
At a ceremony in the commercial capital of Dar es Salaam, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan inaugurated the electric train services and then embarked on a four-hour trip to the administrative capital, Dodoma.
https://twitter.com/UchumiForum/status/1818992925939794088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1818992925939794088%7Ctwgr%5E8b3471f971c383ddec49959dc6ee6600eec22ccd%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Furl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FUchumiForum%2Fstatus%2F1818992925939794088The $3.1 billion railway line was constructed by the Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi.
The sections inaugurated on Thursday are part of a planned 2,561-km network that aims to enhance domestic and regional trade upon its completion.
In 2020, Tanzania secured a $1.46 billion loan agreement with Standard Chartered Bank Tanzania to partially finance the railway section inaugurated on Thursday.
“We are moving forward with the railway construction to Kigoma to connect with neighboring countries and enhance our business opportunities,” Hassan notified enthusiastic residents at a train station on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam.
The government under Hassan is advancing a rail network towards Mwanza, the Lake Victoria port city, and is set to initiate the construction of a new line to Kigoma in the west, which will link with Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“This railway will transform our businesses,” she remarked during a visit to the eastern Tanzanian city of Morogoro.
After the Burundi connection is established, the two countries expect to move three million tons of minerals, including nickel, to Dar es Salaam’s port each year, as reported by the Tanzanian finance ministry.
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