Construction has officially commenced on the sixth phase of Tanzania’s national Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project, with President Samia Suluhu Hassan marking the milestone at a ceremony in Kigoma. According to Railway Gazette, the project—valued at TSh7.5tr (€2.5bn)—seeks to extend the nation’s 1 435 mm gauge network westward to the coast of Lake Tanganyika.
Project Specifications
The contract for Lot 6 includes the construction of the Tabora – Uvinza – Kigoma section. The technical requirements involve 411 km of main line and 95 km of supplementary infrastructure, including station tracks, sidings, and passing loops, amounting to 506 total track-km. Delivery is managed by a joint venture consisting of China Railway Construction Corp and China Civil Engineering Construction Corp, under the regulatory oversight of the Tanzania Railways Corp.
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Contract Value | TSh7.5tr (€2.5bn) |
| Main Line Length | 411 km |
| Total Track-km | 506 km |
| Estimated Completion | 2030 |
| Projected Transit Reduction | 20+ hours to ~8 hours |
Work on the segment was already underway prior to the foundation stone ceremony, with progress reported at over 10% as of July 20. The government expects the project to support approximately 15 000 jobs within the Tabora and Kigoma regions.
Regional Integration
Beyond domestic transport, the SGR is central to a broader multimodal strategy. President Hassan noted that the integration of new lake vessels in Kigoma will facilitate the transfer of rail-bound freight to Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Further regional connectivity is planned through the cross-border link between Uvinza and Musongati, comprising Lots 7 and 8 of the SGR initiative. The Uvinza – Malagarasi section (Lot 7) spans 156 km, while the subsequent 84 km section (Lot 8) leads to Musongati.
Why It Matters
The expansion of the Central Corridor represents a fundamental shift in landlocked African logistics. By cutting journey times by more than 50% between the primary port of Dar es Salaam and the lake-front hub of Kigoma, Tanzania is effectively lowering the cost of entry for international trade. This infrastructure investment forces a recalculation of regional supply chain efficiencies, potentially displacing road haulage dependency in favor of rail-to-port intermodal systems, thereby positioning Tanzania as the primary gateway for mineral and agricultural exports from the Great Lakes region to global markets.
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