Tanzania signed a $ 2.15 billion agreement with two Chinese companies to build a railway line linking its main port in Dar El Salam with a Nickel Mine in the neighboring Burundi.
Tanzania railway company has given the contracts to China Reel Wi -Engeling Group and China Releway Ingering Design & Consaling Group in Dar Al Salam.
“The signing of this contract is the fruit of a bilateral agreement between the governments of Tanzania and Burundi,” said Makazawi, Minister of Tanzami.
He added that the main purpose of the standard railway Ovinza-Mousongati, which is 282 km long (175 miles) is to facilitate the export of minerals and open the cross-border trade between the two countries in East Africa.
The African Development Bank will finance the construction through a loan, according to Tanzania Finance Minister Mucolo Nishimba, who said, “This is a very important moment, because it represents the first step of the African Development Bank in financing railway projects in Tanzania.”
Main investor
China has emerged as a major source of foreign direct investment in Tanzania, Chinese agency Xinhua quoted officials last March.
The permanent secretary at the Presidency Office in charge of planning and investment, Toussa Kaeda, said that from January 2021 to December 2023, the Tanzanian Investment Center recorded 256 Chinese projects worth about $ 2.5 billion, and the first five sectors of these projects were manufacturing and construction Commercial, agriculture, transportation and services.
The head of the Private Sector Institute in Tanzania, Angelina Nagola, stated that Tanzania has made great steps in improving the investment climate, which reached its peak by achieving tangible achievements, including attracting more than $ 11 billion in projects led by Chinese investments, creating more than 114726 jobs.
