The celebration was held on the occasion of the construction of the first railway in Burundi, which will be connected with the new standard scale network in Tanzani.
A symbolic section of the track and electrical maids were installed to celebrate the launch of the project.
President Ivarist Nedishmiye from Burundi and Prime Minister Tanzania, Casem Magalio, put a symbolic part of the path in Musongi on August 16 to celebrate the start of work in the first railway line in Burundi.
The standard scale line, which is 282 km in southeast, will run through Kasulu in Tanzania to Uvinza on the main Kigoma – Tabora line. The new line will have eight stations: three in Burundi and five in Tanzania.
Building will be implemented by the China Railway Engineering collection, design and railway consulting in China, and it must take six years to complete it.
It is expected that the Pornand department will cost $ 2.1 billion and will be funded by the African Development Bank (AFDB) and the CRDB bank.
The new line will form part of the central corridor that connects Burundi and West Tanzania to the port of Dar es Salaam in the Indian Ocean.
The railway will enable Burundi to exploit millions of tons of nickel, iron and platinum.
“These railways will turn deeply to regional transport and reduce delay and transportation costs,” says Flori Okendjo, CEO of the Central Corridor, who coordinates the project.
Okendju said the feasibility studies are scheduled to be completed in May 2026 for a railway project to Uvira and Kindu in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
For more information about African railways, subscribe to Irj Pro.
