AFRICA: The African Development Bank board has approved financing for the second phase of the Tanzania – Burundi – DR Congo standard gauge railway.
On December 12 the bank announced that it would provide Burundi with grants worth US$98·62m, and Tanzania with US$597·79m as loans and guarantees.
This will support the construction of 651 km of electrified single track railway, divided into three lots: Tabora – Kigoma (411 km) and Uvinza – Malagarasi (156 km) in Tanzania, and Malagarasi – Musongati (84 km) in Burundi.
A connection with the first phase in Tanzania will provide access to the port of Dar es Salaam, which accounts for 80% of Burundi’s imports and exports; the 400 km from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma has been built, and construction is underway between Dodoma and Tabora.
The total cost of the project in Tanzania and Burundi is estimated at nearly US$3·93bn.
As the initial mandate lead arranger the bank will structure and mobilise financing of up to US$3·2bn from commercial banks, development financial institutions, export credit agencies and institutional investors.
Economic corridor
The bank said the railway would provide efficient and cost-effective long-haul bulk transport services, which would incentivise large-scale mining and commercial agriculture, and ‘transform the central transport corridor into an economic corridor’ by enhancing trade and manufacturing opportunities.
The railway would enable Burundi to intensify the exploitation of nickel, with the country having the 10th largest deposit in the world at Musongati. It also has resources such as lithium and cobalt.
The railway would also encourage a shift from lorries to rail, reducing accidents and high road maintenance costs.
The project will support development of railway sector institutions in Burundi, and capacity building through skills training in both countries.
- Subscribers can read more about Tanzania’s standard gauge railway project in the July 2021 issue of Railway Gazette International magazine.
