Tanzania and Burundi have finally launched a state-of-the-art standard-gauge railway (SGR) between Uvinza in western Tanzania and Musongati in eastern Burundi, the first cross-border SGR project in East Africa. The 240-kilometre route, at a cost of more than $2.15 billion, was inaugurated with a foundation stone-laying ceremony by Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa. The ambitious project is to be completed in five years with full normal operations by 2030, the Prime Minister’s Directorate of Communications said.
Speaking during the ceremony, Majaliwa assured Burundians and Tanzanians that the project was going to start immediately and that its benefits would be life-changing. He pointed out that the railway would be an important link between Musongati and Dar es Salaam, cutting travel times by a great deal and making trade more efficient. “Once it’s finished, one will be able to travel from Musongati to Dar es Salaam in a day. Cargo trucks currently take 96 hours to reach Bujumbura from Dar es Salaam.”. With the railway, that will be reduced to just 20 hours,” he continued.
The project is also intended for passenger convenience but also with a quicker, safer, and cheaper means of freight transportation. By weaning business off long-distance trucking, the SGR will free up roads, lower transport prices, and make it more economically viable for businesses in the two countries to have a logistics chain. Majaliwa added that the railway would open up new opportunities for investment, spur regional trade, and deepen economic ties across borders.
Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye told the project was a vision for the long-term becoming a reality. He particularly highlighted Burundi’s mineral deposits, especially nickel, and underlined the necessity of effective transport capacity to support the mining sector. “The people asked themselves how we would export the minerals. The train is the solution,” Ndayishimiye said. He also made it public that the line will be extended to Kindu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from Burundi and eventually to the Atlantic Ocean along the West African coast. This, according to him, is part of broader visions to create a pan-African transport corridor to facilitate economic integration in Africa.
The China Railway Group Limited is leading the design and construction team spearheading the project. The representative of the company assured that the railway will be built to international standards with a 1,435-millimeter track gauge and full electrification. These are expected to deliver efficiency, reliability, and long-term sustainability of the line. Xiaotong also underscored the importance of the project as a vital corridor for boosting regional development, investment, and accelerating East Africa’s path toward economic integration.
The Uvinza–Musongati SGR is not just a transport project but a symbol of increased collaboration between Tanzania and Burundi and a move toward more connectivity in East Africa. By cutting down travel time, increasing access to markets, and opening up mineral mining, trading, and industrial prospects, and the railway can reshape the economic fate of both countries and make a significant contribution to the region’s development.
