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controlled atmosphere cargoes, heavy lifts or out-of-
gauge, project cargo, logs, rolling stock etc.
All the containers conform to ISO standards and also
meet rail and other specifications. The ISO standard
includes an international container identification
system.
THE TANZANIA-ZAMBIA RAILWAY AUTHORITY
(TAZARA)
Akashambatwa Lewanika
Managing Director
PO Box T01 Mpika,
Tel: +260-214-370157 / Fax: +260-214-370228
rgm.zambia@tazarasite.com
www.tazarasite.com
The Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) is
a statutory institution owned by the two governments
of the United Republic of Tanzania and the Republic
of Zambia. TAZARA was constructed through an in-
terest free loan of Yen 988 million (about US$500 mil-
lion at the time) from the Peoples’ Republic of China,
following an agreement between the government of
China, Tanzania and Zambia. Survey work began in
1968, and was completed by 1970, after which con-
struction began immediately. Construction of the track
was completed five years later in 1975 and this was
two years ahead of schedule. It was not until 1976
however that the newly constructed railway was of-
ficially handed over to the governments of the United
Republic of Tanzania and the Republic of Zambia.
The TAZARA head office is located in Dar es Sa-
laam in the United Republic of Tanzania. It has two
regional offices one based in Mpika Zambia and the
other in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The railway line
covers a total distance of 1,860km from Dar es Sa-
laam to Kapiri Mposhi. TAZARA is a railway Author-
ity that helps connect the Southern Africa Regional
transport network to Eastern Africa, Asia and the Far
East through the seaport of Dar es Salaam. It pro-
vides the most direct route to the Middle East and
Asia for landlocked Zambia through the seaport of
Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Via Kapiri Mposhi in
Zambia, road and rail transport is seamlessly inte-
grated with the rest of the Southern Africa region,
other parts of Zambia, including the Copperbelt, as
well as connections to other parts of the world are
also facilitated. The smooth interconnectivity espe-
cially with the Southern and Central Africa Railway
networks is achieved through TAZARA, who is able
to handle both freight and passenger services with
design capacity of 5 million tons of freight per year.
The passenger train services offer a unique opportu-
nity to enjoy the tourist attractions throughout the re-
gion as the railway passes through game reserves,
cities and other beautiful sites as well as passing
through 22 tunnels and over 320 bridges throughout
the journey.
The Tanzanian and Zambian governments have
decided to help further develop TAZARA and have
sourced a USD $40 million interest-free loan from
China to do so. The funds will help cover the costs
of provision of equipment, materials and technical ser-
vices. A rehabilitation project of the 988 train wagons
will also be undertaken to allow TAZARA to increase
cargo carrying capacity and efficiency. The drive to
further develop the rail transportation network has
been furthered by the increase in mineral movement
year over year in the Copperbelt. Konkola Copper
Mines alone increased its movement of 30,000 tons a
month to 42,000 tons a month with its expansion over
the course of one year, and has since increased that
monthly figure of mineral movement to 72,000 tons
per month as of 2010. With such rapid growth in the
mining industry, an equally important growing need for
improvements of the railway infrastructure of the coun-
try becomes quite evident. Fortunately these two gov-
ernments, owners of TAZARA, both realize this need.
TAZARA is the gateway to the Eastern, Central and
Southern African business markets covering both the
SADC and COMESA regions, providing rail service
from the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to the town
of Kapiri Mposhi in Central Zambia, where the railway
is connected to Zambian Railway System. TAZARA
seeks to be one of the preferred transport organiza-
tions of use in the Sub-Saharan region, and is eager
to help inform or collaborate with potential investors
or businesses to help achieve this goal as well as fulfil
their commitments to their clients and partners.
Rail Line ensuring efficient transportation of goods
cross border and cross country