China to bring Tanzania-Zambia railway back to full speed with US$1 billion boost

Beijing to refurbish 50-year-old African line as the US and EU bankroll their own rail project in the race for critical minerals

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A train travels through Tanzania on the Tazara line. The railway will get a massive cash injection after Beijing pledged to spend US$1 billion on refurbishing the 50-year-old infrastructure. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 4:17pm, 3 Oct 2024Updated: 4:42pm, 3 Oct 2024

For Beijing, the Tanzania-Zambia railway is “a symbol of China-Africa friendship” – a must-visit stop on any diplomatic tour and China’s largest ever African foreign aid project.

But five decades after it was first built, Tazara, as it is known, has fallen into disrepair and is in the financial doldrums, with only 10 locomotives in used instead of its capacity of 50.

Now Beijing is stepping in, pledging US$1 billion or more to refurbish the ageing railway.

The decision to help save Tazara, however, is being seen as a direct response to the US announcement of its own African railway infrastructure project to bankroll the refurbishment of the Lobito Corridor between Angola and Zambia through the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Observers also say China is keen to get Tazara back to full speed to help transport its mining exports from Zambia and the DRC, as the race for critical minerals used in the production of electric vehicle batteries heats up between China, the European Union and the US.

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Zambia opens memorial for Chinese railway workers who died building Africa’s Tazara line

Tazara has long held a special place for China. Built in the early 1970s, 160 workers, including 69 Chinese nationals, lost their lives during its construction. Even now, visiting Chinese diplomats lay flowers at memorials to those who died.