Posted on 08 March 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
During February, the government of Tanzania resolved to revoke the three-year-old, 25-year railway concession management contract with Rail India Technical and Economic Services (Rites), but this decision has been reversed in the face of “inherent contractual difficulties” whose consequences would be devastating – mainly in financial respects – to Tanzania.
Ministry for infrastructure development Shukuru Kawambwa [...] [...more]
Posted on 01 March 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
The African Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to provide $US8.15 million to finance the viability study for the proposed new Dar es Salaam-Isaka-Kigali-Keza-Musongati 1,435mm gauge railway, which will connect Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda. According to the East African Community (EAC) development programme, the railway line is “critical to the reduction of multinational poverty through regional [...] [...more]
Posted on 19 February 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
Following the decision by Rail India Technical and Economic Services Ltd (Rites) to offer for sale its 51% stake in the consortium established three years ago to operate Tanzania’s railway, it is understood that the International Finance Corporation (IFC) will have the final word in terminating the 25-year lease agreement. According to the [...] [...more]
Posted on 22 January 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
The Chinese government is to lend $US39 million to the Tanzania-Zambia railway, known as Tazara, to help it out of its financial crisis. Tanzania’s infrastructure development minister Shukuru Kawambwa told the press: “China spent about $US500 million to build Tazara’s infrastructure in the 1970s, so it has agreed to extend the loan to rehabilitate it.”
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Posted on 13 November 2009 by Railways Africa Editor
Construction of the new Dar-es-Salaam-Rwanda-Burundi line is projected to cost $US3.5 billion.
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Posted on 01 November 2009 by Railways Africa Editor
Employees of Tanzania Railways Ltd (TRL) are opposing a move by the government to operate passenger coaches hired from Rites Ltd of India. In order to reinstate passenger services which had virtually collapsed under the former Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC), TRL hired 23 passenger coaches from Rites.
Tanzania’s Surface and Marine Transport Authority (Sumatra) stipulated conditions [...] [...more]
Posted on 02 October 2009 by Railways Africa Editor
According to Tanzanian minister for infrastructure development Dr Shukuru Kawambwa, “one of the major shortcomings of Rail India Technical and Engineering Services (Rites) – the company contracted to run the country’s railways – is shortage of capital. At a press briefing he said the government has formed a task force to work on “problematic issues” [...] [...more]
Posted on 02 October 2009 by Railways Africa Editor
On 1 May 2004, Clement Mwiya – a former Zambia Railways employee – was appointed managing director of the ailing Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara), in succession to Charles Phiri. According to the Times of Zambia, Mwiya said the financial position of the company was not sound. Urgent measures were needed to redress the situation and [...] [...more]
Posted on 25 September 2009 by Railways Africa Editor
According to The Citizen (published in Dar-es-Salaam),
“TRL [Tanzania Railways Limited] workers at the Morogoro workshop managed to rehabilitate two defunct engines to show the government that they can run the company without the foreign partner. They asked the government to provide them with required facilities and spare parts so that they could rehabilitate all [...] [...more]
Posted on 20 September 2009 by Railways Africa Editor
“Billions of Tanzania shillings of taxpayers’ money is being used to subsidise the privatised Tanzania Railways Limited in salaries – so much so that Tanzanians are questioning the value of the joint venture between the government and Rail India Technical and Economical Services (Rites),” Leah Brown writes from Dar-es-Salaam in an article published in East [...] [...more]
