A few weeks after the President Kikwete had asked for Tanzanian railway funding, the World Bank (WB) had approved USD 300 Million (TZS 480 billion) loan aimed at the improvement of railway infrastructure on the Dar es Salaam-Isaka section of the East African Central Corridor.
The improvement is supposed to consist of the rehabilitation of 28 bridges, repairing tracks to heavier crane rail, strengthening metre gauge, and building new intermodal terminals.
Tanzanian Railway Corporation will be responsible for implementing the project and is expecting to double transport capacity from 1.4 million tons to 3 million tons annually.
According to the World Bank Country Director for Tanzania Philippe Dongier: “The location and the size of Tanzania, its mineral and agricultural resources, its tourism potential and its critical role as a transport hub for its landlocked neighbors provide unrivalled opportunities for the development of modern transport infrastructures and services.”
The Central Corridor Railway was built in 1906, with the Dar es Salaam-Isaka section connecting Tanzania with Rwanda and Burundi.
