Tanzania has signed a $2.15 billion agreement with two Chinese firms to build a railway connecting its primary port of Dar es Salaam to a nickel mine in neighboring Burundi.
Tanzania Railways Corp. awarded the contracts to China Railway Engineering Group Ltd. and China Railway Engineering Design and Consulting Group Co. in Dar es Salaam.
“The signing of this contract represents the realization of a bilateral agreement between the governments of Tanzania and Burundi,” said Tanzania’s Transport Minister, Makame Mbarawa.
The 282-kilometer (175-mile) Uvinza-Musongati standard gauge railway line is designed to support the export of nickel and enhance cross-border trade between the two East African countries.
The construction will be financed through a concessional loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB), marking the bank’s first involvement in funding Tanzania’s railway projects, according to Finance Minister Mwigulu Nchemba.
“This is a very significant moment,” Nchemba said, highlighting the importance of the AfDB’s contribution to the nation’s infrastructure development.
