BRI: Foundation stone laid for Phase 5 of Tanzania Standard Gauge Railway project

Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan laid the foundation stone for the 341-kilometre Phase 5 stretch of Tanzania's Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project in Misungwi District, Mwanza, Chinese Embassy said in a tweet on Tuesday.

 

The embassy said the project, undertaken by Chinese contractors, is expected to be completed in May 2024.

 

In January, Reuters reported that the Tanzanian government had awarded a $1.32 billion contract for Phase 5 to China Civil Engineering Construction and China Railway Construction, adding that the project cost would be borne by the Tanzanian government.

 

Launched in 2017, the five-phase SGR railway project aims to connect Tanzania's Dar es Salaam Port on the Indian Ocean to Lake Victoria port city of Mwanza and thereafter to Rwanda, Uganda, and the landlocked Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo, according to media reports.

 

(Writing by SA Kader; Editing by Anoop Menon)