President John Magufuli and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame have agreed to extend the standard gauge railways (SGR) from the small Tanzanian town of Isaka to Rwanda’s capital Kigali, which will give landlocked Rwanda a connection to the Dar es Salaam port. Later, the venture would also include a connection to Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Magufuli ordered the transport ministers of both countries to meet to discuss the financing, and announced that the construction could begin ‘immediately as feasibility studies and all other preparations are complete.’ Both countries would also reach out for loan financing.

Tanzania’s current SGR construction is planned in two phases.

• The first phase will connect Dar es Salaam to Morogoro in central Tanzania and is currently under construction. It is scheduled to be completed by October 2019.
• The second phase will cover the distance to Makutupora and should be completed in 2020.

The construction contractors are Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi and Portuguese firm Mota-Engil. Tanzania’s central corridor railway — at an estimated cost of US$7.6 billion — is financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), because of China’s unhappiness with construction contracts going to Turkish and Portuguese firms.

For landlocked Rwanda, a rail connection to a sea port will be crucial for both imports and exports as it will reduce transport costs and times. The country had counted on the SGR from Kenya’s Mombasa Port through Uganda, but is equally willing to consider a route through Tanzania. Rwanda routes around 50% of its imports through the port of Dar es Salaam, and this project will be a critical development for their longer term economic plan.

Rwanda is already investing in both a passenger and a cargo rail terminal near its capital that will be linked with bus and highway connections to create a transport hub. The Rwanda Transport Development Agency (RTDA) noted that planning for the Uganda link had been completed and that the country was now in the stage of seeking financing. However, the RTDA disclosed that it would go along with whichever connection would materialise first as the country uses both transport corridors.

This segment is taken from our East Africa regional focus publication. Please contact our Africa team for a free copy.