Tanzania and Burundi have issued a request for proposals for the design and construction of an electrified railway that will initially connect the two countries.
This comes in an effort to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the largest single market in the world, and build the continent’s second multinational electrified railway.
Plans for a cross-border electric railway line in East Africa are boosting regional rivalry for cargo business and assisting the area in pursuing a US$3 trillion single market potential.
“The two Governments of Tanzania and Burundi have entered into a bilateral agreement to implement this multinational project as a single project within Tanzania and Burundi territories,” according to the document.
Approximately 282 kilometres of electrified Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line will be built from Uvinza in Tanzania (off the Tabora – Kigoma SGR line), over the international border to Musongati, and then to Gitega in Burundi.
The project’s completion date is set for 5 years. When completed, it will be Africa’s second cross-border electrified rail line, following the 2016 opening of the continent’s first wholly electric international railway line between Ethiopia and Djibouti.
According to the bidding document for the Tanzania-Burundi line, the governments of Tanzania and Burundi have requested construction money from the African Development Bank.
Tanzania has lately launched a vigorous drive to improve its old regional rail networks in order to increase cross-border commerce.
“Upon completion of the SGR, Tanzania will be in a better position to utilize its strategic geographical positioning to facilitate cross-border trade,” Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan stated.
Burundi and Tanzania collaborate on a cross-border electric railway project to boost trade
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