Tanzania secures $1.27 billion for SGR expansion

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Dr Natu El-Maamry Mwamba, signs on behalf of the Government, while the Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered, Herman Kasekende, signs on behalf of the financing partners. The agreement signed on April 28, 2026 in Dodoma for the $1.277 billion syndicated financing package supporting the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project.

Nairobi. Standard Chartered Bank has successfully arranged a $2.33 billion ​syndicated financing facility for the Standard ‌Gauge Railway project in Tanzania, the bank said on Tuesday.

The money will finance two stretches of ​a planned 1,219 km railway line that ​links the commercial capital and port ⁠of Dar es Salaam and the lakeside ​city of Mwanza.

Turkey's Yapi Merkezi and China's China ​Civil Engineering Construction Corporation will undertake the works, the bank's statement said. Funding was secured from export ​credit agencies, commercial banks and development ​finance institutions, it added.

"The construction and modernisation of the ‌Standard ⁠Gauge Railway will connect the port of Dar es Salaam to key growth corridors in western Tanzania and neighbouring states, providing a ​reliable mode ​of transportation ⁠for people and cargo," the bank said.

"The SGR will spur the ​economic development of the interior areas ​of ⁠Tanzania."

Tanzania is aiming to construct a modern railway network of at least 2,561 km, ⁠connecting ​the East African country with ​landlocked neighbours Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and the Democratic Republic ​of Congo.