$1 billion Tazara rehabilitation closer to reality

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania, Zambia and China on Wednesday signed an initial agreement for the rehabilitation of the decades-old Tazara railway to improve rail and sea transportation in resource-rich East Africa.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, along with President Samia Suluhu Hassan and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, witnessed the signing of the memorandum of understanding on the refurbishment on the first day of the two-day 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing, according to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency.

It was not stated on Wednesday how much the project will cost or the financing modality, but China in February proposed spending $1 billion to rehabilitate the rail line through a public-private partnership model.

The 1,860-kilometre Tazara was built from 1970 to 1975, financed by China. It links Zambia’s Kapiri Mposhi area with Dar es Salaam Port.

The railway line sought to eliminate landlocked Zambia’s economic dependence on Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and South Africa, both of which were ruled by white-minority governments.

The railway provided the only route for bulk trade from Zambia’s Copperbelt to reach the sea without having to transit white-ruled territories.

Commercial operations of the line, derided by some Western governments at the time as the “bamboo railway”, began in 1976. The multi-year project had involved the construction of two dozen tunnels and hundreds of bridges by tens of thousands of Chinese and African workers.

“China is willing to take this summit as an opportunity to make new progress in the revitalisation 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,” President Xi said.

Earlier this year, the World Bank approved $270 million in financing to help improve connectivity between neighbours Tanzania and Zambia and boost regional trade.

Meanwhile, after the meeting, President Hassan and her host held talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday where the Tanzanian leader emphasised the need to sustain the existing bilateral relations between the two countries, especially in areas of enhancing investments in infrastructure in line with China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

This, according to a statement issued by the acting Director of Presidential Communications, Ms Sharifa Nyanga, will greatly benefit Tanzanians.

“President Hassan also invited members of the private sector in China to come and invest in Tanzania in areas of alternative energy production and their transmission infrastructure,” the statement said.

During the meeting, the statement says, President Xi assured her Tanzanian counterpart that China was ready to enhance strategic relations with Tanzania in order to deliver vivid outcomes to citizens and foster the historic relations between the two countries.

President Xi said China sees Tanzania as an example of the best model of relations between his country and Africa.

Speaking about FOCAC, President Hassan exuded confidence that forum would come up with tangible outcomes in strengthening relations between China and Africa, especially on the areas of promoting the construction of factories and modern farming in Africa.

According to Ms Nyanga, President Hassan also held talks with the chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Mr Wang Huning.

The need to enhance relations between Tanzania and China was also highlighted by Tanzania’s ambassador to China, Mr Khamis Mussa Omar, during an interview with CGTN, an English-language news channel of the state-run China Global Television Network.

In the interview, Mr Omar said China is currently the leading trading and investment partner for Tanzania.

Relations between the two countries started in the 1960s and in 2022 Presidents Hassan and Xi agreed to elevate the relationship to comprehensive strategic partnership.