Tanzania Begins Construction of USD 2.74 Billion Tabora-Kigoma SGR Railway Section

President Samia Suluhu Hassan laid the foundation stone for construction of the 506-kilometer, USD 2.74 billion (TZS 7.4 trillion) Tabora-Kigoma Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) section on 20 July 2026.

The ceremony took place at Katosho Grounds in Kigoma-Ujiji Municipality, where President Samia addressed residents of Kigoma and neighboring regions.

The Tabora-Kigoma section, designated Lot Six of Tanzania’s SGR network, will connect directly to the existing SGR corridor running from Dar es Salaam through Morogoro, Dodoma and Tabora.

The project is expected to stimulate growth across agriculture, fisheries and entrepreneurship in the Kigoma region.

Farmers along the route are expected to gain access to lower-cost agricultural inputs and wider markets for their produce.

Traders and young people are expected to find new employment opportunities through the transport network, warehousing and related economic services the section is expected to generate.

The completed section is expected to position Kigoma as a strategic hub linking Tanzania with Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.

Government officials say the infrastructure will ease the trade and cargo transport chain across the Great Lakes region.

“Kigoma will no longer be known merely as the end of the railway line, but will become the beginning of business, employment and investment opportunities,” President Samia said.

“Cargo from the Port of Dar es Salaam will now reach Kigoma quickly and reliably.”

Minister for Transport Prof. Makame Mbarawa added that the Tabora-Kigoma section forms part of the government’s plan to build an integrated transport system, and pledged to oversee its implementation to high professional standards to ensure it is completed on schedule.

The Tabora-Kigoma section forms part of the second phase of Tanzania’s SGR program, alongside the planned Uvinza-Musongati line, with the two together spanning 1,590 kilometers.

The first phase of the program comprises the 1,219-kilometer Dar es Salaam-Mwanza corridor, sections of which have progressively entered commercial service since 2024.

Once both phases are complete, Tanzania’s SGR network will total 2,809 kilometers, connecting the Indian Ocean coast at Dar es Salaam to Lake Tanganyika in the west.

The Tabora-Kigoma section is being constructed by a joint venture of China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), under the supervision of the Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC), with works already reported to have progressed beyond 10%.

The route runs through the Tabora Urban, Uyui, Urambo, Kaliua, Kigoma Rural and Kigoma Urban districts.

The section’s groundbreaking coincided with the start of construction of four new cargo vessels and a modernization program at Kigoma Port on Lake Tanganyika, which is expected to raise the port’s annual cargo-handling capacity from 800,000 tonnes to 2 million tonnes by 2027.