Chinese officials have reached an agreement to upgrade the decades-old Tanzania-Zambia railway. The deal was struck on the sidelines of the China-Africa Summit in Beijing, and on Wednesday, an initial agreement between China, Tanzania, and was Zambia signed. Highlighting the significance of the deal, China’s President Xi Jinping witnessed the signing of the memorandum together with the Tanzanian and Zambian presidents.
The deal calls for the revitalization of the railway from the port of Dar Es Salaam to Zambia’s copper belt at Kapiri-Mposhi town. China completed the construction of the 1,155 miles single-track Tanzania-Zambia railway in 1976. However, due to years of under-investment and neglect, the railway suffered from poor maintenance and operational inefficiencies, leading to a decline in market share and utilization.
This is changing with the Tanzanian and Zambian governments interested in reviving the rail line, through support from China. The state-owned China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) was appointed to lead a business and technical inspection of the rail. The findings will inform the preparation of a revitalization proposal to be submitted to the shareholders of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA). The railway is owned by the governments of Tanzania and Zambia on a joint and equal basis.
Singing ceremony with China's president looking on along with the leaders of Zambia and Tanzania (photo courtesy of Tanzania)
With China’s agreement to invest in the project, the Port of Dar Es Salaam continues its efforts including to become a key hub for Zambian copper exports. Chinese companies have been making large investments in Zambia’s copper-belt, as the race for electrical vehicle dominance heats up.
Zambia has been exporting its copper through South Africa’s Port of Durban. With improved connectivity to Tanzania, the Port of Dar Es Salaam, however, has begun taking an increasing share of the trade.
Competing routes to transport copper from Zambia (Trafigura)
The multi-modal transport network connecting the landlocked Zambia to Tanzania has also been receiving attention from investors. Early this year, the World Bank pledged $270 million to support the development and climate resilience of the Tanzania-Zambia corridor. Part of the grant will rehabilitate the Serenje-Mpika road, which is part of the Zambian Great North Road connecting to Tanzania.
The U.S. is backing the alternate Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR). It connects the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia’s copper-belt regions to the Angolan Port of Lobito, situated along the southern African Atlantic coast. The U.S. government through its International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) announced a financial package to support the development of the LAR corridor. Last fall, the trading house Trafigura announced it was part of a 30-year concession to operate the 1,300 km Lobito railway. A competition to the Chinese efforts, this partnership plans to invest more than $450 million on the railway and associated infrastructure and secure more than 1,500 wagons and 35 locomotives. In addition, up to $100 million will be invested on the other side of the border in the DRC, on improving its railway line and rolling stock.
