While speaking at the Eight East and Central Africa Roads and Rail Infrastructure Summit in Dar-es-Salaam, Prof Makame Mbarawa who is the Minister o9f Works, Transport and Communications confirmed that construction will begin as soon as next month.

 

The standard gauge railway will stretch from Morogoro to Dodoma covering a distance of 336 km in its second phase. Plans are already in place to introduce fast, modern trains once this project is wrapped up. High-speed trains recording 160kph and freight trains moving at 120kph will both be introduced. 

 

Prof Mbarawa said, “We want this railway line link Tanzania with other regional, landlocked states including Burundi, DR Congo, Rwanda, Zambia and Uganda through quick and timely access from Tanzania’s Indian Ocean ports,”.

 

The SGR project is currently run under the watchful eye of Yapi Merkez Insaat Ve Sanayi, a reputed Turkish constructor alongside Mota-Engil, Engenharie, Construcao Africa and SA of Portugal.

 

South African President Jacob Zuma and World Bank President Dr. Jim Yong Kim visited the country this year after President Magufuli requested both to contribute funds to the projects. Jacob Zuma is known for ties to the New Development Bank through his BRICS connections.

 

The construction is on the same line with the Central Railway (CR) Line and stretches from Dar-es-Salaam to the shores of Lake Victoria. The CR was constructed by the Germans in 1905 from Dar-es-Salaam to Kigoma.

Source : Business News Africa