Construction of
a 2,190-kilometre central railway line to standard gauge has begun
after the government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
Exim Bank of China in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
The agreement
involves forming technical teams from both sides to oversee various
issues regarding the whole construction process and other administration
matters. The Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Finance, Dr
Servacius Likwelile, said a feasibility study for the project will soon
commence.
The railway line
will run from Dar es Salaam to Tabora-Isaka-Mwanza,
Tabora-Mpanda-Kalemela, Tabora-Uvinza-Kigoma and Isaka-Keza-Musongati
and Burundi. The railway lines connect landlocked East African countries
of Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. The line to Kigali, Rwanda, will
ultimately connect the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
During a meeting in
Dodoma on Wednesday, Exim Bank President, Mr Liu Liang, promised full
cooperation with Tanzania in exchanging experience and skills on the
construction of the railway and its management. President Magufuli also
said the process to seek constructors for the railway has already
commenced, in which he proposed four different constructors to be given
the job.
Once
completed, it is expected that the project will revolutionise
Tanzania’s economy and other countries in Eastern and Central Africa
including Burundi, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The project as a
whole is estimated to cost about 16tril/- , in which the railway is
expected to connect the port of Dar es Salaam to Rwanda and Burundi,
while two additional lines will connect Dar es Salaam to the coal, iron
ore and soda ash mining areas in the south and northern parts of the
country.
Ref.: CCTV Africa
No comments:
Post a Comment