China-backed revamp to transform TAZARA into profitable regional corridor

The chief spokesperson for Tanzania's government, Gerson Msigwa, has assured the public that the agreement signed by Tanzania and Zambia with China to rehabilitate the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority, or TAZARA, will turn the major railway into a regional growth engine within the next three years of operation.

The China-assisted infrastructure, which was completed in the 1970s, is projected to yield about $30 million in annual dividends after the landmark rehabilitation that ushers the historic railway into a new era of sustainability.

Altough it has played a major role in regional trade and integration, in recent years the decades-old railway has been facing operational and financial challenges.

Msigwa noted that the railway, once a symbol of solidarity, is now being repositioned as a modern logistics corridor aligned with Tanzania's long-term economic ambitions.

"The revival of TAZARA is closely aligned with Tanzania's Vision 2050 development agenda, which aims to build a competitive, trillion-dollar economy supported by modern infrastructure and deeper regional integration," he said.

Under the new agreement, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, or CCECC, will invest about $1.4 billion to comprehensively rehabilitate and modernize the railway.

Planned works include upgrading tracks, stations and signaling systems, introducing new passenger trains and expanding freight handling capacity, with annual cargo volumes expected to increase from about 400,000 metric tons to 2.4 million tons.

According to Tanzanian authorities, the upgraded railway will unlock new economic opportunities by facilitating the export of minerals such as cobalt and rare earths, improving access to regional and international markets for agricultural products and lowering transport costs for traders and manufacturers.

The project is also expected to create employment opportunities, particularly for young people, and boost trade, while strengthening Tanzania's role as a regional transport hub, linking central railway and the Southern African Development Community, SADC, networks via a new transshipment joint at Kidatu in Tanzania.