Tanzania's standard gauge railway (SGR) is a major attempt to change the way cargo is transported in the region. For years, cargo bound for the heart of Africa has crawled out of Dar es Salaam on congested roads. The new rail line, which will connect Dar es Salaam to Kigoma, is expected to cut the journey time to Burundi's capital, Bujumbura, from 96 hours to just 20 hours. Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Burundi line.
The foundation for the rail line is already laid, with the Dar es Salaam–Makutupora section, covering Lots 1 and 2, operational since June 2024. Freight services were added in June 2025. The next stretch to be financed is Makutupora to Isaka, where a syndicated financing exceeding $2.33 billion, arranged by Standard Chartered, will fund Lots 3 and 4. The 430-kilometre section will be built by Yapi Merkezi.
The financing for the project is complex, involving multiple lenders and export credit agencies. Standard Chartered is acting as sole global coordinator and lender to Tanzania's Ministry of Finance. The export credit agencies fronting the deal are EKN and SEK of Sweden, KUKE of Poland, and SACE of Italy. The overall progress of the project is at 69.2 per cent, with more than 210 kilometres of sleepers laid on the 341-kilometre section.
The western section of the rail line, Lot 6, is a $2.74 billion investment linking Dar es Salaam Port to Lake Tanganyika. President Samia Suluhu Hassan laid the foundation stone for the 506-kilometre Tabora–Kigoma section on 20 July 2026. The section is being built by a joint venture of two Chinese state firms, CRCC and CCECC. The project has passed 10 per cent completion.
The rail line will have two exits: one to Burundi and the other to Lake Tanganyika. From Uvinza, the network forks eastward to a 282-kilometre extension to Musongati, priced at $2.15 billion and scheduled for completion by 2030. The line is planned to carry nickel from Musongati to the port of Dar es Salaam. Musongati holds the world's tenth-largest nickel reserves, along with lithium and cobalt.
The second exit is to Lake Tanganyika, where cargo will transfer by vessel across the lake to eastern DRC ports such as Kalemie. However, this link is considered the weakest part of the project. A feasibility study is under way for a rail extension from Musongati to Kindu in the DRC, with expected completion by 2035. Until then, Congolese cargo depends on the lake and port capacity at Kalemie.
The successful completion of the rail line will make Dar es Salaam a major gateway to the Great Lakes region. The project is a significant step towards reducing congestion on the roads and providing a faster and more efficient way of transporting cargo.
Key points
- The rail line will cut the journey time from Dar es Salaam to Bujumbura from 96 hours to 20 hours.
- The project involves multiple lenders and export credit agencies, including Standard Chartered, EKN, SEK, KUKE, and SACE.
- The rail line will have two exits: one to Burundi and the other to Lake Tanganyika, providing a faster route to eastern DRC.
