A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the revival project of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) railway was signed on Wednesday, in the presence of Presidents Xi Jinping of China, Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, and Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia.
Samia and Hichilema are in Beijing, for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) 2024 Summit
The largest renovation of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority since Mao Zedong agreed to assist in its construction in the 1970s was inaugurated during a ceremony overseen by the chiefs of state of the three countries during the Forum on China Africa-Cooperation (FOCAC).
The line connects the mines of Zambia with the east coast port of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam. It might be very important for exporting copper to China, which is the world’s largest buyer of the metal, which is used in everything from electric cars to air conditioners.
China’s takeover of the concession of a vital export route for minerals from neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zambia is partly a reaction to the US’s support of a different rail project, the so-called Lobito Corridor, which travels in the opposite direction, towards Africa’s west coast.
This is the most recent move in a struggle for power that is leading to a rail renaissance in the area.
China’s government has acted swiftly after Zambia asked for assistance in renovating the line. The railway was inspected by experts sent by the state-owned China Civil Engineering Construction Corp in December of last year.
The plan to invest over $1 billion to revitalize the line and run it profitably was formally presented to Zambia by China’s envoy three months later. Following discussions, the agreement reached today was reached. Since TAZARA was China’s first significant infrastructure project in Africa, it has symbolic significance in the country’s relations with the continent.
Despite having little resources at the time, Mao’s government decided to assist Zambia with the construction of a new 1,860 kilometer railway.
At the time, Zambia’s primary export route via South Africa was blocked by the then-government of Rhodesia, which had declared independence from Britain and closed its border, leaving the landlocked nation trapped.
President Kenneth Kaunda reached out to the World Bank and other financiers for the rail project, but only China agreed to contribute.
China is now well-positioned to take over the line’s commercial operations, which have fallen into disrepair, thanks to that vital help.
In an interview conducted last month, Bruno Ching’andu, the CEO of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority, declared that “you can’t beat TAZARA” when it came to minerals headed for the Far East.
“These are the individuals who built the line,” he remarked. “They’ve dispatched multiple teams to inspect the bridges and all of the infrastructure along the line.” They appear to know exactly what is needed.
New Model
The agreement also shows China’s more circumspect stance toward international infrastructure projects in the wake of some significant loans under its grandiose Belt and Road Initiative defaulting.
Zambia defaulted on loans totaling more than $6 billion from lenders in 2020. That set off a difficult and still ongoing debt restructuring procedure.
For the TAZARA revitalisation, China Civil has suggested a public-private partnership approach that is primarily focused on creating and managing the concession for profit. According to Trevor Simumba, a development economist who authored a paper on China’s lending to Zambia, that methodology hasn’t been tried there before.
He declared, “This is a big test for China.” “I sense that it will be successful.”