On 4th September 2024, Tanzania, Zambia, and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the revitalization of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA).
The signing took place on 4th September during the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), held in Beijing, China.
The signatories of the agreement were Zambia’s Minister of Transport and Logistics Hon. Museba Frank Tayali, his Tanzania counterpart, the Minister of Works and Transport Hon. Prof. Makame Mbarawa, the Chairman of the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) Dai Hegen, and TAZARA’s Managing Director Bruno Ching’andu.
Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan, China’s President Xi Jinping, and Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema witnessed the signing of the memorandum.
The agreement follows China’s proposal in February 2024 to invest USD 1 billion to revitalize the railway.
Speaking during the Forum, President Xi said “China is willing to take this summit as an opportunity to make new progress in the revitalization of the Tanzania-Zambia railway, cooperate to improve the rail-sea intermodal transport network in East Africa, and build Tanzania into a demonstration zone for deepening high-quality China-Africa Belt and Road cooperation.”
TAZARA’s Railway Connection
TAZARA is a bi-national railway linking Zambia to Tanzania and the Dar es Salaam seaport. Financed by China, it was built from 1970 to 1975 and began commercial operations in 1976.
The 1,860-kilometer single-track railway provides a route for bulk trade from Zambia’s Copper belt to the Indian Ocean.
Despite its capacity to transport five million metric tons of cargo annually, TAZARA has been operating below potential, with recent figures indicating a cargo movement of 244,492 tons in the 2021/23 period.
TAZARA’s target for the 2024/25 financial year is set at 350,000 tons and 3,430,000 passengers with a projected total income of USD 55.19 million anticipated from various sources like freight, parcels, passengers, and other non-operational activities.
The revitalization of TAZARA is expected to boost its cargo and passenger transport abilities.
