China to help upgrade rail link in Africa

Tanzania-Zambia line to be revamped to bolster its role in regional integration

Five decades since it was first built with Chinese support, the TAZARA, a crucial railway linking Tanzania and Zambia, is undergoing a historic transformation to strengthen its role as a key route for trade and integration in Southern Africa.

Once hailed as a symbol of China-Africa friendship, the 1,860-kilometer railway linking the Port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia is set for a comprehensive upgrade under a proposed 30-year concession agreement with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.

Bruno Ching'andu, chief executive officer of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority, told China Daily that the railway currently transports approximately 400,000 metric tons of freight annually, which falls below historical peaks — mostly copper from landlocked Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the port of Dar es Salaam — and serves about 450,000 passengers.