Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi Seek Funding Adviser for $4 Billion Regional Rail Project

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The expansion and extension of rail networks in Africa is crucial for industrial development and the realization of the continent's resource and agricultural potential. A fast-growing population needs food, and the continent has areas of fertile, arable land, without secure transport and distribution networks, to deliver the products.

In this development scenario, the governments of Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi are working together to build a rail network, which will link the capital cities of the three countries and enable land-locked Rwanda and Burundi to handle exports and imports through Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's port capital on the Indian Ocean coast.

Currently, the partners are looking for an adviser to assist them in securing financing for the $4.13 billion project. The adviser will be required to assist the governments in structuring the joint infrastructure deal and will include investment options, marketing, and investment risk advice, according to the Tanzanian Ministry of Transport. The deadline for the submission of bids is August 21, 2014.

Joint, detailed preliminary studies on the project have been completed. Tanzania is planning to make further investments in transport networks, with a view to becoming a regional transport hub. The country is the second-largest economy in east Africa, behind Kenya.

A continuing roll-out of transportation system investments can be expected in Africa, as east-west/north-south links are planned, as well as and links from the interior to the Indian and Atlantic oceans.

For related information, see March 19, 2014, article - South Africa's Transnet Orders 1,064 Locomotives from China, GE and Bombardier; February 5, 2014, article - New Rail Link to Give Zambia Access to Angolan Port and Oil; September 5, 2013, article - Mozambique's Maputo Port on Expansion Roll with Ore, Coal and Auto Handling; and August 23, 2013, article - China Boosts Kenyan Ties with $5 Billion Worth of Infrastructure Projects.

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