Tanzania Railways Corporation told to embrace the private sector

Dar es Salaam. The government has directed Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) to involve the private sector and transporters in the procurement of locomotives and renovation of 690 wagons.

Minister for Works, Transport and Communication Isaack Kamwelwe gave the directives on Monday when he met TRC board members and its management.

He said the move will fast-track transportation of cargo. He said the current procurement process done by the government took much time.

The government needs about Sh41.4 billion to renovate 690 wagons and $25million (about Sh57.5 billion) to procure 10 new locomotives. “Currently, we have a huge demand for transportation of cargo from the Dar es Salaam port. Unfortunately, there is shortage of cargo wagons. Therefore, partnership is very important to fast track the procurement process than relying on government procurement procedures that sometime might take up to one year,“ he said.

The minister said the government has so far disbursed Sh4 billion for renovation of 86 wagons, and called for partnership with the private sector to speed up the renovation of the remaining wagons.

Kamwelwe further said some clients including World Food Program have already partnered with TRC to renovate some locos.

“ Dangote (Mtwara-based cement company) has shown interest to transport 1.2 million tonnes of cement from Dar es Salaam to other regions, this means cargo transportation will increase to more than 1.5 million tonnes,” he said.

The volume of cargo volume has increased to 17 million tonnes while TRC capacity was to carry only 425,000 tonnes annually..

TRC managing director Mr Masanja Kadogosa said some transporters have shown interest to invest in rail to reduce roads congestion.