New lease of life for TAZARA
DAR ES SALAAM: THE World Bank has approved a 270 US million dollars (about 687bn/-) grant to support improvements in transport and trade connectivity between Zambia and Tanzania.
The Dar es Salaam corridor, a key route for copper exports from the central African Copperbelt region, is serviced by the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA).
The link offers an alternative to bypass logistics bottlenecks in South Africa that have held up copper and cobalt exports from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
According to a statement issued by the World Bank on Wednesday, the money will be used to rehabilitate a portion of the TAZARA in Zambia, develop a modern border post between Zambia and Tanzania and introduce other supporting infrastructure.
“The project’s reach extends beyond borders, positively impacting communities in Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Malawi,” the statement said.
The statement said that the six-year Transport Corridors for Economic Resilience (TRACER) project, backed by International Development Association (1DA) grant aims to improve efficiency, connectivity, and climate resilience of key regional transport and trade corridors in Eastern and Southern Africa.
Responding to the statement, Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Mr January Makamba said that the project was one of the agenda when President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s visit to Zambia last year.
“This is a much-needed boost to Tanzania- Zambia transport and trade connectivity, which was part of agenda of visit by President Samia to Zambia last year. Thank you, excellences, for your leadership on this important matter,” Mr Makamba wrote on his official X (formerly Twitter) platform. President of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema said the grant to develop the regional economic corridors has little or no interest rate.
“When we said we’ll pursue better financing agreements, this is what we meant. This grant to develop our regional economic corridors has little or no interest” Mr Hichilema wrote on his official X (formerly Twitter) platform.
