Samia, Xi Jinping, Hichilema witness MoU signing of TAZARA railway revitalisation

By Mary Kadoke , The Guardian

Published at 03:59 PM Sep 04 2024

Photo: State House

PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan (Left), Chinese President Xi Jinping, (Centre) and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema (Right) jointly witnessing the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on the revitalization project of the TAZARA railway.

PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema have jointly witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on the revitalization project of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) railway.

The signing took place today Wednesday, September 4, 2024, at the Great Hall of the People as Heads of State attended the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing China.

The 1,860 km long project was built with financial and technical assistance from China when TAZARA was initially conceived to provide the critical outlet to the sea that landlocked Zambia.

Samia, Xi Jinping, Hichilema witness MoU signing of TAZARA railway revitalisation

"After Independence and the ongoing business changes, it is upon to ensure a favourable working environment that citizens will benefit from the project," said President Samia via Instagram handle @samia_suluhu_hassan.

Tanzania and Zambia clearly had the motive to construct TAZARA. But it was also very clear from the beginning that this mammoth project would require huge amounts of funds to take off. The Western countries were first approached for assistance to build the line but as expected they rebuffed the idea, insisting that “the project was economically not viable.”