China commits to partner TZ-Zambia in rehabilitating Tazara
CHINA has expressed commitment to partner with the government of Tanzania and Zambia in rehabilitating infrastructures of the Tanzania- Zambia Railway (Tazara).
The commitment was made on day by the Charge d’ Affaires of the Chinese Embassy to Tanzania Suo Peng, during an event to commemorate 64 Chinese experts who died while constructing the Tazara railway line between 1970 and 1975.
He said China was ready to work on all recommendations and proposals from Tanzania and Zambia on rehabilitation of the railway line with regards to the current and future demands.
“Importance of this railway line is well understood by everybody, it links two countries, Tanzania and Zambia, in terms of facilitating movement of people and goods, it is also a symbol of unity and friendship between our three countries,” he said.
Mr Suo explained that apart from working on Tazara railway, China would continue to work with Tanzania on various areas of cooperation including trade and investment.
According to him, China- Tanzania cooperation has achieved fruitful results, saying the bilateral ties have become a model of South-South cooperation.
“China has been Tanzania’s largest trading partner and the source of foreign investment for several consecutive years,” he said.
Statistics show that in 2022, bilateral trade volume between China and Tanzania reached 8.3billion US dollars, a yearly increase of 23.7 per cent.
“Currently, Chinese companies are also executing and taking part in number of flagship projects such as Lot five of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Mwanza to Isaka, Julius Nyerere Hydropower Station, renovation and expansion of the Dar es Salaam port as well as the Tanzania’s national ICT backbone network,” he added.
Deputy Minister for transport portfolio in the Ministry of Works and Transport Atupele Mwakibete commended China for its continued support to Tanzania on infrastructure development.
“Tanzania appreciates China’s support to Tazara with a series of interest free loans through economic and technical cooperation for over 40 years of its operations,” he said, adding that the funding has been of great value for the operations of the railway in terms of equipment, and human capital development.
He assured him of government commitment to strengthening the Tanzania-China cooperation for the sustainability of Tazara through diplomatic, political, and economic cooperation between Tanzania, China and Zambia.
For his part, the Tazara Managing Director Bruno Ching’andu said the upgrading of the infrastructure and support would enable Tazara to move more than five million tonnes per year.
“Given the necessary support, with the right equipment and tools, this railway will be able to move more than five million tonnes every year, which is just 30 per cent of the potentially available volume of freight today,” he said.
