Samia: How electric trains will transform transport, spur economic growth in Tanzania

Dar es Salaam. Inadequate transport infrastructure deterioration leads to the loss of economic output by two percent and inflates transportation costs by 40 percent, President Samia Suluhu Hassan has said.

President Hassan said the trend adversely hinders investment and increases business expenses in respective countries.

She was speaking in Dodoma on Thursday, August 1, 2024, during the official launch of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) electric train between Dar es Salaam and Dodoma.

She said the modern railway will reduce transport time between Dar es Salaam and Dodoma—a train distance of about 540 kilometres—by 60 percent, from the previous nine hours to an average of three and a half hours.

“This will simplify trade and social activities between the two large commercial and administrative cities by widening the transport scope and means of transportation to passengers travelling between the two areas,” she said.

She said a person travelling from Dar es Salaam to Bukoba now has several options, including boarding a plane, travelling by bus, or taking an electric train to Dodoma and connecting to Bukoba by bus.

President Hassan said the railway creates a business opportunity for the private sector as they can enter into a partnership with TRC to use one ticket modal.

The modal, she said, could allow passengers to travel to Dodoma by train and then connect to final destinations by bus.

Furthermore, she said the railway could provide other trade and investment opportunities to the private sector, especially in the stations it passes.

“The project will also reduce vehicle congestion and road accidents. It will increase parcel transportation efficiency, and most importantly, it will significantly reduce environmental pollution,” she said.

“This is because the railway uses electricity, which emits less carbon while at the same time reducing the number of vehicles using hydrocarbons, thus emitting more carbon into the atmosphere,” she added.

According to her, electric trains will stimulate economic activities in different sectors, including industry, agriculture, livestock keeping, tourism, and trade, expressing optimism that the industrial sector is expected to record significant growth in different regions due to transport and transportation reliability.

Generally, she said it would create a significant number of jobs, therefore addressing the unemployment challenge in the country and improving the lives of Tanzanians.

“The project will also help in the preservation of available roads and those under construction due to its capability to carry heavy cargo, therefore reducing the number of vehicles carrying heavy cargo plying on the roads,” said the president.

The railway, President Hassan said, will also increase the efficiency of the Tanzania ports, especially the Dar es Salaam Port, by increasing the speed of cargo clearance due to the railway's ability to serve over 17 million tonnes of cargo per year.

President Hassan stated that, regionally, the railway will significantly boost trade, especially with neighbouring landlocked countries.

This enhancement will strengthen trade between Tanzania and the nations served by the Dar es Salaam Port through the central corridor, including Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, and Uganda.

“A total of $10 billion, which is equivalent to Sh23.3 trillion, is expected to be utilised by the government to the end of the project. My prayer is that the costs remain unaltered because any increase will be uphill to the country,” stressed President Hassan, calling on the public to protect and preserve the infrastructure.

She called the TRC board of directors to supervise the SGR project with the highest degree of professionalism and integrity for the intended profit to be realised.

It would be unpleasant, she said, for the government to service the loan incurred during the project implementation due to inefficiency; rather, it would be pleasant for the corporation to generate profit and make a significant contribution to loan servicing.

The president directed the treasurer to convene a meeting with the TRC board of directors and the management aimed at introducing the performance criteria, famously known as KPIs.

Furthermore, she said a total of 1,430 waggons were expected to arrive and get tried in the next three months, noting that the commencement of the cargo transportation would realise the project’s dream to tie up with other sectors of the economy.

She said the waggons will go alongside the development of Inland Container Depots (ICDs) in Kwala, Coast Region; Ihumwa Dodoma; Isaka Tabora, and several other regions across the infrastructure network.

“The government is in the final stages of negotiations with the contractor for the revitalisation of the Tanzania and Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara) railway. We will also emphasise the improvement of the existing meter-gauge railway network,” she said.

She commends predecessors

President Hassan said in 2001, former President Benjamin Mkapa prepared the 25-year development vision focused on building a competitive and sustainable economy.

She said in 2002, Mr Mkapa participated in a regional meeting of heads of state that resolved on the revitalisation of old railway infrastructure and building new networks.

“When former President Jakaya Kikwete assumed office, she contemplated and resolved that the development vision should be executed in a period of five years,” she said.

Mr Kikwete analysed the project implementation cost and handed it to his successor, the late John Magufuli, who, in May 2017, resolved to commence the project execution in the Dar-Moro and Moro-Dodoma lots.

“Based on this history, may I ask you to join me in recognising and congratulating the contribution made by my predecessors in the implementation of this project?” she said.

“I intend to ensure projects approved and commenced implementation by the fifth phase government are completed according to standards and expected quality,” stressed the president.