Why Tanzania wants involvement of private sector in SGR
A train during a trial run on the Dar es Salaam-Morogoro section of the standard gauge railway earlier this year. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- The government will soon announce procedures on how the private operators will be operating, and the Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) will release its specifications on the standards of the required EMUs and carriages.
Dar es Salaam. The government yesterday explained the reasons for allowing the private sector to invest in the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), saying the move will sustain the project and boost economic localisation.
The minister for Transport, Prof Makame Mbarawa, said the government came up with Railways (Open Access) Regulations, 2024, which allow the private sector to procure its wagons and Electric Multiple Units (EMUs) trains to utilise the SGR infrastructure.
“We deliberately initiated open access because we do not want the SGR project to stop providing the services or rather be a white elephant. What we want is that after every hour, the SGR must keep operating,” he said.
Prof Mbarawa made the remarks when briefing journalists on the official launch of the electrified commuter train services between Dar es Salaam and Dodoma, which started last week.
The official launching ceremony is scheduled for August 1, 2024, by President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
He stressed that the government will soon announce procedures on how the private operators will be operating, and the Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) will release its specifications on the standards of the required EMUs and carriages.
According to him, each operator will be given a schedule for them to run smoothly.
“We will also come up with terms and conditions for the private sector to operate smoothly, and very soon TRC will come up with that plan,” he said. He explained that the government has invested heavily in the SGR project, adding that the involvement of the private sector was crucial.
According to him, the construction of the Dar es Salaam-Morogoro-Makutupora section has so far cost $3.138 billion, while Sh1.3 trillion has been utilised to procure 10 EMUs and wagons.
Prof Mbarawa noted that the SGR can carry up to 10,000 tonnes at once, equating the cargo to 500 lorries.
The SGR links the Dar es Salaam port, which serves some neighbouring countries such as DR Congo, Zambia, and Malawi.
TRC director general Masanja Kadogosa said the response to the Dar es Salaam-Dodoma route has been overwhelming.
“We started with one trip from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma and vice versa, per day, but due to positive response, we increased the frequencies to two. The train can transport 900 to 1000 passengers per trip,” he said, adding that the train was fully booked until August 2, 2024.
