The African Development Bank (AfDB) has greenlit a substantial $696 million in financing for the construction of a cutting-edge 651-kilometer electrified single-track standard gauge railway, forging a crucial link between Tanzania and Burundi in Eastern Africa. As the pioneering mandate lead arranger for this transformative project, the AfDB is propelling the $3.93 billion standard gauge railway (SGR) line from Tabora in Tanzania to the mineral-rich Musongati area in landlocked Burundi.
This visionary endeavor, to be executed through a design and build arrangement, is comprised of three pivotal components. The Tabora to Kigoma section spans 411 kilometers, the Uvinza to Malagarasi segment covers 156 kilometers (both in Tanzania), and the Malagarasi to Musongati portion stretches over 84 kilometers in Burundi.
The prestigious contract for the construction of the Tabora to Kigoma SGR line was awarded in December 2022 to the esteemed partnership of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and China Railway Construction Company (CRCC). This section encompasses 411 kilometers of the main line, inclusive of 95 kilometers of alternating lines.
This transformative railway project is set to interconnect the mineral-rich Musongati region with global trade routes via the Dar es Salaam seaport. Musongati boasts significant mineral resources, including the world’s 10th largest nickel reserves, as well as deposits of lithium and cobalt. According to the AfDB, Dar es Salaam already facilitates 80% of Burundi’s import and export trade.
Key specifications for the Tanzania/Burundi SGR line include a design speed of 160 kilometers per hour for passenger trains and a maximum of 120 kilometers per hour for freight trains. The railway infrastructure will feature 60 kg steel rail per meter as per UIC standard, with 2.6-meter-long pre-stressed monoblock concrete sleepers laid 600 mm apart or a minimum of 1,667 sleepers per kilometer.
The construction plan involves the use of ballast with a minimum thickness of 300 mm, requiring at least 2.5 cubic meters for each meter. The rails will be continuously welded using the flash-butt procedure, fastened with the elastic rail fastening method.
The AfDB envisions structuring and mobilizing financing of up to $3.2 billion from commercial banks, development financial institutions, export credit agencies, and institutional investors for this ambitious project. Looking ahead, the ultimate goal is to extend the Tanzania/Burundi SGR line to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the next phase. The DRC, a global leader in cobalt production, is set to benefit from a railway extension from Gitega to Kindu.
In a significant step towards realizing this extension, infrastructure advisory, design, and engineering consultancy firm Zutari Group, in collaboration with Canadian advisory services provider CPCS, has been selected as the contractor for a $3.2 million feasibility study and preliminary engineering design. This extension, traversing Bujumbura and Uvira, is poised to amplify the transformative impact of the ongoing six-phase, 2000-kilometer modern railway network being constructed in Tanzania under contracts with Turkey’s Yapi Merkezi, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, and China Railway Construction. The integration of these SGR lines promises to reshape the transportation landscape and foster economic development across the region.
Source: ENR