Tanzania’s US$14billion 4,669 KM Standard Gauge Railway to link East African Railways.
As part of the East African Railway Master Plan, the Tanzania Standard Gauge Railway
is being built to connect the country to its neighbors Rwanda and Uganda, and through them,
to Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The planned Standard Gauge Train (SGR) will replace the inefficient metre-gauge railway
system.
The building of a 220 kv main power transmission line for the standard gauge railway (sgr)
train, Dar es Salaam-Morogoro segment, was announced in December 2020, with the project
reaching 99 percent completion.
The transmission line runs for 159 kilometers between the main kinyerezi center and the
morogoro region.
As part of the east African railway master plan, the tanzania standard gauge railway
is under construction, connecting the country to its neighbors Rwanda and Uganda, and through
them, to Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The new standard gauge railway (sgr) will take the place of the old one.
The chief government spokeswoman also revealed that feasibility studies for the sgr connecting
Tanzania and Rwanda had already been completed, and that the two nations were currently looking
for project financiers.
The rail link is part of a $14.2 billion plan to develop 2,500 kilometers of standard gauge
rail lines across the country.
The new Tanzania SGR is designed to replace the outdated, inefficient metre gauge railway
system while also reducing traffic congestion.
It is also anticipated that freight expenses will be reduced by 40%.
Each freight train will be capable of transporting up to 10,000 tonnes, or 500 vehicle loads.
The project is divided into five stages: Phase 1 (dar es salaam) is 202 kilometers long.
The 1219-kilometer, 160-kilometer-per-hour standard gauge railway is being constructed
in five stages: phase 1 morogoro.
Phase 2 makutupora morogoro makutupora tabora phase 3 Tabora isaka, phase 4, and Isaka mwanza
for phase 5.
Approximately 80% of the new railway will be built parallel to the current metre gauge
line, with the remaining 20% on new alignments.
Hello viewers, welcome to another day on Africa Reloaded and thanks for joining us.
In today’s video, we will be looking at how the Tanzania’s US$14billion 4,669 KM
Standard Gauge Railway would link East African Railways and make movement within East Africa
easy and also facilitate trade links.
Fasten your seat belts as we discover more about this railway.
The Various Phases of The Project.
-The first phase was finished in April 2022 and is currently undergoing live testing.
From Dar es Salaam to Morogoro, it will traverse a distance of 202 kilometers (126 miles).
-The second section runs from Morogoro to Makutopora, covering roughly 348 kilometers
(216 miles).
As of February 2022, this portion was 81 percent completed.
-The third phase will run from Makutupora to Tabora, covering 368 kilometers with 294
kilometers of mainline and 74 kilometers of intersections at a cost of $1.9 billion (TZS
4.41 trillion).
In April of 2022, construction began.
-The fourth phase will span 130 kilometers from Tabora to Isaka.
-The fifth phase will take place between Isaka and Mwanza (249 km).
The Various Sections of The Project and Locations.
The railway system would be divided into numerous sections:
Dar es Salaam-Morogoro Section.
This 300-kilometer (186-mile) stretch was awarded to a 50/50 consortium led by Turkey’s
Yapi Merkezi and Portugal’s Mota-Engil.
Construction on the project began in April 2017, and Yapi Merkezi has been documenting
its development with monthly video reports on YouTube.
The Export Credit Bank of Turkey provided partial funding for this portion, totaling
US$1.2 billion.
Phase 1 was completed to 42 percent in February 2019, 82 percent in June 2020, and 95 percent
in December 2021.
With infrastructure complete electrical test and live train trials commenced in late April,
2022.
Dar es Salaam, Pugu, Soga, Ruvu, Ngerengere, and Morogoro will be among the six stations.
Three trains will run round trips per day.
Morogoro–Makutopora Section.
This segment was also contracted to the Dar es Salaam–Morogoro Section construction
consortia.
The line runs from Morogoro to Dodoma, the capital, and then to Makutopora in the Singida
Region’s Manyoni District.
It is 426 kilometers long (265 mi).
Tanzania’s government received a US$1.46 billion soft loan from Standard Chartered
Bank in September 2018 to help fund this segment of the country’s SGR.
As of February 2022, this portion was 81 percent completed.
Mkata, Kilosa, Kidete, Gulwe, Igunda, Dodoma, Bahi, and Makutopora would be the stations
after Morogoro.
Makutupora–Isaka Section.
This 435-kilometer (270-mile) segment is separated into two sections, one from Makutupora to
Tabora and the other from Tabora to Isaka.
Yapi Markezi has been given the first section from Makutopora to Tabora.
The foundation stone was laid in April 2022, and construction will begin immediately.
Isaka–Mwanza Section.
This part of the SGR line runs to Mwanza, on the southern beaches of Lake Victoria,
and is roughly 341 kilometers (212 miles) long.
The Citizen newspaper claimed in January 2021 that two Chinese companies had been chosen
to build this portion of the SGR.
The work will be carried out by China Civil Engineering Construction (CCEC) and China
Railway Construction Company (CRCC) at a cost of around TZS:3 trillion (roughly US$1.3 billion).
[10] Later that month, The East African reported that Tanzania had received $1.32 billion in
funds from the Chinese government to construct this part of the SGR.
This section’s construction progress is 4 percent complete.
Isaka–Rusumo Section.
This section of the SGR is part of the Isaka–Kigali Standard Gauge Railway and is around 371 kilometers
long (231 mi).
The cost of constructing this stretch is estimated to be $942 million.
The World Bank expressed its willingness to support the Isaka-Kigali Standard Gauge Railway
in April 2018, according to the EastAfrican daily.
General Overview of The Project.
The purpose of this 1435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) railway line is to make it easier to transport
products between the port of Dar es Salaam and the city of Kigali, Rwanda, and then to
Bujumbura, Burundi, and Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Surface water ferries are expected to convey products between Mwanza and Port Bell and
Bukasa Inland Port in Kampala, Uganda’s capital city, from the lake port of Mwanza.
Tanzania’s SGR system, like that of neighboring Rwanda and Uganda, is designed to run on electricity.
Passenger trains will run at a speed of 160 kilometers per hour (99 miles per hour), while
cargo trains will operate at a speed of 120 kilometers per hour (75 miles per hour).
How The Project Is Being Funded.
The government of Tanzania used locally produced cash and short-term temporary loans to fund
the first two sections of this standard gauge railway project through February 2020.
The government got a syndicated loan of US$1.46 billion in February 2020 to finish the first
two phases of the national SGR.
Standard Chartered is the primary arranger, with the Export Credit Agencies of Denmark
and Sweden serving as major finance sources.
The total contract value for the first two stages is US$2.35 billion, with the Tanzania
Ministry of Finance organizing US$950 million in funding and Yap Merkezi handling the remaining
US$1.45 billion.
Benefits of The Project.
-In terms of macro and microeconomics, Tanzania SGR has a higher advantage on the output level,
as it provides transportation and mobility, and it contributes to employment and the nation’s
economy, with the project expected to create around 600,000 direct jobs.
-The contemporary railway is expected to cut journey time by using an electric train rather
than a bus.
Currently, road networks are congested because a large portion of freight is delivered by
road; however, the SGR will relieve the roads by moving cargo by train.
-The Dar es Salaam-Morogoro SGR project has employed 8,303 people, with 7,063 being Tanzanians
and 1,243 being foreigners.
The project is expected to feature 20% locals and 80% foreigners among essential staff such
as engineers.
However, because locals account for 46.5 percent of the population, it has exceeded the quota.
-The construction of the SGR project has lately been revealed to have multiple socio-economic
implications.
The ongoing construction of the first section of the SGR from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro,
according to the Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC), has so far injected 307 million US
dollars into Tanzania’s economy through local subcontractors, suppliers, and service
providers.
The long-term viability of transportation networks and people’s mobility are critical
components of the global vision 2030 agenda for SDGs.
The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of the indicators system in the evaluation
of the sustainability of standard gauge railway construction in Africa’s developing countries,
and the researchers were able to show a correlation between the indicators used and the comprehensive
sustainability evaluation, so this study concludes that these indicators are valid and can enrich
future studies on railways sustainability in Africa.
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