A train running on TAZARA Railway on November 19, 2025. Photo: Provided by CCECC
Preparatory work on the Tanzania-Zambia (TAZARA) Railway Revitalization Project is proceeding as planned, the Chinese developer of the project told the Global Times on Thursday.
The project, launched on November 20, marks a milestone in China-Africa cooperation under China’s proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The railway, a testament to the friendship between China and Africa, is expected to be further incorporated as a “common path to prosperity and development,” the project developer said.
“To ensure safe and reliable railway operations, we will first steadily proceed with planned repairs and upgrades of existing facilities, including roadbeds, tracks, bridges and culverts, power supply, and communication systems,” a spokesperson for the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) told the Global Times. “This is important preparatory work for the regeneration project.”
He stressed that the project follows the principle of “revitalize first, develop later.”
CCECC, a subsidiary of the state-owned China Railway Construction Corporation, is the Chinese investor, constructor and operator of the project. The company has begun research work related to the revitalization project as early as 2022.
On September 4, 2024, the leaders of China, Tanzania, and Zambia witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the TAZARA railway revitalization project.
The groundbreaking ceremony for this project was held on November 20th. Observers and local residents praised it as “opening a new chapter in the development of the TAZARA railway” and, more broadly, “carving a new chapter in jointly building an all-weather Sino-African community with a shared destiny in a new era.”
The “iron road” has created deep ties between China, Tanzania and Zambia. The railway was built with interest-free loans from China and was officially handed over to the Tanzanian and Zambian governments on July 14, 1976.
The new revitalization project will expand TAZARA Railway’s freight capacity to 2.4 million tons from the current level of 200,000 tons, while also reducing transport times by nearly two-thirds, the company was quoted as saying in a statement sent to the Global Times.
Responding to “urgent and realistic demands”
Regarding follow-up work, the Chinese side will work closely with TAZARA authorities to “strengthen the informationization level of the entire line and improve its operation and maintenance capacity” while maintaining the existing passenger transport services. Plans will also be made for the potential development of logistics services, supporting industries and capacity building along the railway line.
For example, the company will consider establishing regional training centers to strengthen its railway governance capabilities through a standardized and sophisticated approach. According to CCECC, the initiative is expected to create more than 20,000 jobs.
Amid a complex and evolving international situation and Africa’s accelerating development, stakeholders note that the Tazara Railway Revitalization Project comes at a pivotal time, responding to “both urgent and real demands” for railway renewal and upgrades.
“Africa is currently at a critical juncture of industrialization and modernization transformation, and requires further cross-border infrastructure projects to enhance connectivity,” Song Wei, a professor at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Thursday.
Bruno Chinandu, Managing Director of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority, said that with the upgrading of China-Tanzania and China-Zambia relations to Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation Partnership, railways will play an even greater role not only in transportation but also as a key link in regional connectivity and Belt and Road cooperation, Xinhua reported.
The 1,860-kilometre TAZARA railway connects the Copperbelt region of Zambia with the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, providing an important high-speed corridor for the transport of copper and cobalt to the Indian Ocean.
Dar es Salaam Port handles about 95% of Tanzania’s international trade, according to a post on the Tanzania Ports Authority website.
However, due to limited rail capacity, the transport of copper products, the cornerstone of Zambia’s economy, remains heavily dependent on roads, severely limiting the expansion of production capacity and undermining both the efficiency and safety of public transport, analysts said.
Once the revitalization project is complete, the TAZARA railway will more closely connect Africa’s inland mineral resources, agricultural and industrial products with global markets, and “provide a more stable and predictable logistics corridor that will enable southern and eastern African countries to be more deeply integrated into global supply and value chains,” a CCECC spokesperson said.
He also emphasized that the ripple effects of revitalization projects go beyond those of simple transportation initiatives.
“This will serve as a critical foundation for African countries to advance their industrialization, urbanization, agricultural modernization and digital infrastructure development, giving it deep and enduring strategic importance to the continent’s journey towards modernization,” he said.
Build a closer China-Africa community with a common future
Song said the construction of the Tazara Railway, which dates back several decades, embodies the “historic spirit of China and Africa standing together and helping each other in difficult times” and the “principles of equality and mutual support between China and Africa.”
“This revitalization project marks the beginning of a bright new chapter in win-win and high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between China and Africa. It is also a solid and decisive step in building an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future in a new era,” Song said.
He also stressed that this could set new standards for Global South cooperation and inject new momentum into cooperation between developing countries.
This year also marks the 25th anniversary of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). According to another Xinhua report, since the establishment of FOCAC, China and Africa have cooperated in building or renovating about 100,000 kilometers of roads and more than 10,000 kilometers of railways across Africa.
Under the FOCAC framework, Belt and Road infrastructure projects in the transport, energy and telecommunications sectors are expected to be further promoted in synergy with other cooperation policies such as industrial parks and trade facilitation, thereby “helping African countries address their shortcomings, strengthen industrial chains, and strengthen their independent development capacity and resilience to risks,” the CCECC spokesperson said.
Analysts said these Belt and Road projects would provide a solid material foundation and lasting momentum to China and Africa’s joint pursuit of modernization.
