The Secretary-General and Chief Government Spokesperson Mr. Gerson Msigwa has assured Tanzanians that the agreement that Tanzania and Zambia have entered into with China to upgrade the TAZARA railway will have great economic and social benefits for Tanzania.
Msigwa, who was providing clarification following some internet users’ misleading and misleading claims about the move, said the TAZARA railway, which was built with an interest-free loan from China between 1970 and 1975 and then handed over to Tanzania and Zambia in 1976, was facing major operational challenges, which led to inefficiency, failure to operate and forced the Government to use its own funds to operate it.
He explained that through the agreement that Tanzania and Zambia have entered into with China through the CCECC company, China will invest US$1.4 billion equivalent to more than 3 trillion and 450 billion shillings which will improve railway infrastructure, build stations, purchase passenger trains and also build a large Kidatu Transshipment Joint station which will enable freight from the central railway which has MGR standard to be transferred to the TAZARA railway which has Cape Gauge standard.
He noted that with the improvement, the CCECC company which will improve the railway for three years and operate the railway for 30 years will be giving the Government US$30 million annually (equivalent to 75 billion shillings) compared to now where the Tanzanian Government alone is forced to give more than 28 billion shillings to contribute to the operation of TAZARA.
As a result of this investment, TAZARA is expected to stimulate the economies of Tanzania and Zambia to a great extent as the railway is connected to the Cape Gauge railway network with a length of more than 50,000 kilometers in Africa.
Some of the benefits that Tanzania will benefit from include facilitating the transportation of various minerals including rare earth elements present in Tanzania (rare earth elements, cobalt, granite, coal and iron as well as various agricultural products to SADC countries and to the Port of Dar es Salaam.
Msigwa has called on Tanzanians to ignore those who criticize the success of obtaining this major investment which has been successful after His Excellency President Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan met with the President of China, His Excellency Xi Jinping, to agree with him to invest in the improvement of TAZARA and also when President Samia went to address the Zambian Parliament and called on the Zambian Government to accept the improvement of the railway to be carried out.
Chinese Prime Minister Mr. Li Qiang has already launched the improvement of TAZARA in Zambia as part of the implementation of the project.
