Tanzania: State to engage private sector in railway project

Construction of the central railway line with standard gauge is expected to start any time this year, Transport Minister, Mr Samwel Sitta, assured. The Minister noted that the Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement for implementation of the project is estimated to cost about 7.6 billion US dollars, equivalent to 11 trillion shillings (almost 60 per cent of the 2014/2015 financial year national budget).
He said that his ministry will make full use of PPP in implementing various infrastructure projects and stop depending on government’s budget. He made the promise while reacting to the Parliamentary Committee for Infrastructure report which advised the government to heavily invest in railway infrastructure.
The railway line runs from Dar es Salaam at the Indian Ocean to Kigoma on Lake Tanganyika through Dodoma with branches leading to Mwanza on Lake Victoria.
On the other hand, the minister also said that within this regime, feasibility studies for Tanga-Arusha-Musoma and Mtwara-Bamba Bay railway lines will be completed.
Minister for Finance, Saada Salum Mkuya noted that railway lines construction demands a lot of funds, thus the approach which Transport Minister had chosen could be the best alternative.