KAMPALA, UGANDA – The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved US$8.5m in loans and grants to finance a multinational railway project study in Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.

According to a statement issued by the bank recently, the second phase of the Dar es Salaam-Isaka-Kigali/Keza-Musongati Railway project study will cover the existing 970-km Dar es Salaam-Isaka railway link and its extensions.

The project is part of the East African Community (EAC) priority investment programme which attaches great importance to multinational poverty reduction projects, through regional infrastructure development and cooperation among member countries.

The study will benefit from lessons drawn from Phase I of the project, co-financed by the bank which analyzed various rail alignments with associated physical and technical constraints, project environmental and social impact, economic and financial feasibility and existing institutional framework.

The results were presented to a development partners’ and private sector round table held in Tunis in March 2009.

Phase II will focus more on deepening the institutional framework and structuring the project in the form of a Public Private Partnership (PPP).

It will involve analysis of the project’s socioeconomic benefits, notably for the most vulnerable people who include women, children, and rural dwellers among others.

In terms of business development and enhancement of economic potential, it will address mining, industry and agriculture as well as facilitating the low-cost marketing of goods and movement of people. 

There will be a comparative analysis of modes of transport including road, rail and rail-road and lake-rail combination on the corridors to Rwanda and Burundi.

The third component comprises environmental and social impact of the future railway project (impact of climate change on the project, spread of sexually-transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS and the impact of rail transport on public security) as well as appropriate measures for mitigating the negative impacts during and after project implementation.

Finally, the fourth component takes care of the private sector participation in financing the project and managing railway infrastructure.

The project will provide the governments of Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi with data and decision-making tools to facilitate mobilization of financing, project implementation and railway infrastructure management.

Four mining sites will be connected to the Keza-Musongati Section by 50 km-branch lines.

The Project Impact Area (PIA) covers Rwanda, Burundi and Shinyanga and Kagera regions located in North Western Tanzania, with a population of 22.7 million, 53% of whom live below the poverty line.

ENDS