Tanzania and Burundi have signed an agreement for the joint construction of a 282-kilometer standard gauge railway (SGR). This is according to a statement issued by the government of Tanzania.
The statement, issued late Sunday by the Tanzanian Ministry of Finance and Planning, said the rail line will start in Uvinza. Uvinza is in Tanzania’s western region of Kigoma. It will terminate in Gitega in Burundi.
The agreement was signed by Tanzanian Minister for Finance and Planning Mwigulu Nchemba and Minister for Works and Transport Makame Mbarawa on behalf of the government of Tanzania. In addition, Burundian Minister for Infrastructures, Equipment and Social Housing Deogratius Nsanganiyumwami and Minister for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning Domitien Ndihokubwayo signed for Burundi. The statement said this.
Speaking after the signing of the agreement, Nchemba said both countries have started seeking finance for the implementation of the project. The project is estimated to cost less than 900 million U.S. dollars.
The rail line will boost goods and passenger traffic between the two countries. It will also increase traffic with the other four member states of the East African Community. These member states are Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda, he said.
Mbarawa, the minister for works and transport, said 156 km of the SGR will be built in Tanzania. However, 126 km will be built in Burundi.
Tanzania is currently constructing a standard gauge rail line covering 1,637 kilometers, from the major port of Dar es Salaam to western and northern regions, and connecting to landlocked countries of Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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