East Africa Standard Gauge Railway to begin in earnest

The construction of the most anticipated East Africa Standard Gauge Railway is set to kick off in December, Tanzania’s Minister for Works has announced.

Professor Makame Mbarawa said that the railway line will link Tanzania and land locked East African countries of Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi and facilitate transport in the central corridor.

The minster added that they are currently sourcing for a well qualified contractor that will be able to carry out the project to the highest standards possible.

Construction of the East Africa Standard Gauge Railway line is expected to take three years and once complete it will give a good transport solution to the countries that it will link.

“We expect the project to be of great importance to the countries that it will link which includes Rwanda, Burundi, DR Congo, and Uganda Dar es Salaam Port” he added
The minister added that the project is expected to be carried in four phases and is set to bring adequate solution to the tumbling transport industry.

The minister was speaking during a meeting that brought all transport minister from the involved countries in East Africa under the chairmanship of the Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communications, Dr Leonard Chamuriho.

Central Corridor

According to Dr Chamuriho, the meeting centered on how to address challenges facing transport in the Central Corridor and the implementation of the SGR project that for a while have been discussed.

The East Africa standard gauge railway line is a major transport route in the EAC block expected to spur economic growth. In Kenya, the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway line is nearing completion and is expected to link Uganda.

Regarded as a key economic booster infrastructure in Africa continues to receive major funding mainly from AfDB, the European Union and the World Bank.