Construction of a 651-km electrified single track standard gauge railway line linking the Eastern Africa countries of Tanzania and Burundi has received a $696 million financing from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the project’s initial mandate lead arranger. The new $3.93 billion standard gauge railway (SGR) line will run from Tabora in Tanzania to landlocked Burundi’s mineral-rich Musongati area. A contract for the construction of the Tabora to Kigoma SGR line was awarded in December 2022 to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and China Railway Construction Company (CRCC). The section encompasses 411 km of the main line with 95 km of alternating lines. An initial project brief shows the Tanzania/Burundi SGR line has a design speed of 160 kph for passenger trains and a maximum of 120 kph for freights trains.

Source: The North Africa Journal December 30, 2023 04:59 UTC