China is to inject US$ 376 million into the Tanzania
Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) for rehabilitation of the railway
infrastructure.
The funds will help Tazara
rehabilitate its 1, 860 km rail line from Tanzania’s commercial capital Dar es
Saleem to Kapiri Mposhi District in Central Zambia.
The funds are part of an
aid package the government
of China is arranging to help revive and secure the sustainable development of
Tazara.
The resuscitation of
Tazara follows a technical assessment
undertaken by the Third Railway Survey and Design Institute of China on the
railway’s viability.
The financing
package follows a recent
weeklong technical work group meeting held in the Tanzanian commercial capital
of Dar es saleem to chart the future of Tazara.
Secretary to cabinet
Roland Msiska led a team of technocrats comprising permanent Secretaries and officials from the ministries of
commerce, development planning, Finance, Foreign Affairs and Transport to
the meeting that looked at the rehabilitation and sustainable development of
Tazara.
Ministry of
Transport Permanent Secretary Misheck Lungu who is co-chairperson of
Tazara and part of the Zambian negotiating team confirmed the
development to ZANIS in Lusaka.
Mr Lungu however pointed out that the aid package is subject to
consideration and approval by the tripartite ministerial meeting set for later
this year.
The government of the people's republic of
China together with Tanzania and Zambia are exploring ways of resuscitating the
ailing jointly owned railway firm.
Tazara was
founded over 40 years ago when Chairman Mao Tse-Tung, Julius
Nyerere and
Kenneth Kaunda, founding fathers of China, Tanzania and Zambia
respectively, visioned connecting east and southern Africa to promote to
sustain regional and trade, and social economic development.
However over the last two
decades, Tazara has been
underperforming and experienced deterioration in infrastructure due to lack of
investment.
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