The new railway infrastructure developed over 200 km from Dar-es-Salaam to Morogoro built as part of the Tanzania-Burundi-DRC railway construction (SGR) project was visited during mid-April 2024. Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency (CCTTFA) organized this joint multi-partner visit to touch and use the infrastructure already in place
Me Flory Okandju, Executive Secretary of the Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency (CCTTFA): “We took the train, used the new locomotives and traveled from Dar-es-Salaam to Morogoro over 200 km to show the partners and members of STACON, the development of projects along the Central Corridor”.
“When we talk about building a railway between Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), later between Tanzania, Rwanda and the DRC, people think we are dreaming. If you don’t dream, you’re not going to achieve anything. The main thing is to dream and mobilize resources to accomplish dreams,” points out Me Flory Okandju, Executive Secretary of the Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency (CCTTFA).
Some financial partners, members of the Central Corridor, public and private sector agents wait to speak or link to publications in the media and social networks of the standard gauge railway project linking Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo ( DRC), he explains.
“Now they will touch, feel, the fruit of their efforts using the train. Today, our Presidents have made this railway a reality”, specifies Me Flory Okandju on the occasion of the meeting of the Stakeholders Consultative Committee (STACON) which was held in Dar-e-Salaam in Tanzania from April 16 to 17, 2024.
Two new STACON participants: Malawi and Zambia
The Boss of the Central Corridor informs that the organization he leads organized the STACON meeting, but at the same time the visit to key infrastructures that are being developed along the Central Corridor.
“The delegation made up of partners, notably the German Technical Cooperation (GIZ), the European Union (EU) delegation in Tanzania, and the African Development Bank (ADB) took part in this visit,” indicates he said before noting that the visit began at the port of Dar-es-Salaam, then at the SGR station.
“We took the train, used the new locomotives and traveled from Dar-es-Salaam to Morogoro over 200 km to show the partners and members of STACON the development of projects along the Central Corridor,” adds Me Flory Okandju.
He also points out that since their accession to the Central Corridor in December 2023, two new countries, namely: Zambia and Malawi, participated in this trip and took part in the STACON meeting.
This is a body responsible for facilitating transit transport trade within the Central Corridor. It meets every year in March or April to review and deliberate on the challenges affecting the smooth flow of trade and transit transport along the said corridor from the port of Dar-es-Salaam to the final destination.
Before the STACON meets, the Central Corridor teams associated with the stakeholder teams carry out field surveys. They travel by road from Dar-es-Salaam to identify challenges affecting trade and transport and write a report. This must be signed during the STACON meeting and submitted to the Executive Secretariat of the Central Corridor responsible for bringing it to the decision-making bodies (board of directors and inter-ministerial council) to formulate recommendations for advocacy.
Decrease in imports transiting through the port of Dar-es-Salaam
On the occasion of the STACON meeting, Me Flory Okandju recognizes that traffic has decreased in certain countries of the Central Corridor, especially on the import side. However, compared to last year, he explains, cargo is only increasing at the port of Dar-es-Salaam. There is therefore an increase in exports.
“The decrease in imports is explained in the global context. There are many difficulties affecting trade, among others, the war in Ukraine, the war in the Gulf countries, the attacks on the Red Sea which destabilize the supply chain, the difficulties linked to cohabitation between the inhabitants of the country…”, he says before calming down that we can avoid or manage these problems.
According to him, everyone wants a monopoly and control of the market. This leads to differences of opinion which sometimes manifest themselves by more or less violent means. “Promoting business, business relationships where everyone is a winner would resolve the conflict. This in the sense that it will lead to job creation. This causes economic growth, increases the tax base and then leads to the development of commercial infrastructure. The future lies in green infrastructure (environmental protection) and blue infrastructure (water),” insists Me Flory Okandju.
Burundi: progress in the railway construction project
Gervais Ndirakobuca, Prime Minister of the Republic of Burundi and Nnenna Nwabufo, Managing Director of the African Development Bank for East Africa attended the signing ceremonies of the USD 100 million grant agreement for the implementation of phase II of the joint Tanzania-Burundi-DRC railway construction project (SGR) (Tanzania-Burundi section). This took place between the government of Burundi represented by Audace Niyonzima, Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning and Pascal Yembiline, Head of the Bank’s Country Office in Burundi last March. The start of work on the construction of the railway is planned before the end of this year.
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