TAZARA: End of Year Reflections and Aspirations for the Future
As 2024 comes to a close, we at the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) extend our heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering patience, perseverance, and support throughout the year.
This year brought its share of challenges, but it was also a period of progress and renewal of hope. Under the guidance the Tanzanian and Zambian Heads of State, the ongoing revitalization process initiated earlier this year continued to gain momentum.
With the oversight of the TAZARA Council of Ministers, we are pleased to report significant advancements toward transforming TAZARA to a higher level of efficiency and reliability in the provision of railway services on the Dar es Salaam corridor.
So far, the revitalisation process achieved the following milestones during the year:
- The infrastructure was comprehensively assessed, enabling us to prioritize and plan for essential upgrades;
- Feasibility studies were successfully concluded by prospective Public-Private Partnership (PPP) partners and investors, laying the ground for well-informed concession negotiations;
- Key stakeholders signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the revitalization process; and
- The negotiations for a Concession Agreement with a consortium of Chinese investors, led by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) which constructed TAZARA between 1970 and 1975, progressed to an advanced stage.
We are confident that this transformative partnership, the Concession Agreement involving Chinese investors, will be finalized early in 2025, paving the way to swiftly unlock the full potential of our revitalization efforts.
Your trust and continued support have been instrumental in driving our efforts forward. As we look to the future, our vision remains clear: to re-establish TAZARA as a model of efficiency and reliability, a beacon of regional integration, and a catalyst for economic growth in SADC. This aligns with our vision to become the most preferred transport organization in the sub-region.
On behalf of the entire TAZARA family, I wish you a joyous festive season and a prosperous New Year. Let us approach 2025 with hope and determination as we continue to work toward a brighter future for TAZARA and the communities we serve.
Warm regards. Sadiki Anthony Minja
For/Managing Director