China Kicks Off Major Upgrade for Historic Tanzania-Zambia Railway
By Zou Xiaotong
A project to revitalize the historic Tanzania–Zambia Railway (TAZARA) has officially begun, with a Chinese state-owned enterprise set to overhaul the line and significantly boost its freight capacity.
A commencement ceremony for the upgrade was held Thursday in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. On Friday, China, Tanzania, and Zambia issued a joint statement announcing the creation of a “TAZARA prosperity belt” and committing to the railway’s redevelopment.
The project will be managed by China Civil Engineering Construction Corp. (CCECC), a subsidiary of state-run China Railway Construction Corp. Ltd. (CRCC). CCECC’s predecessor — the foreign aid office of China’s former Ministry of Railways — oversaw the original construction of the line, which was handed over to the two African nations in 1976.
The revitalization of TAZARA, one of China’s most significant foreign aid projects, aims to unlock the region’s economic potential. The railway connects Zambia’s copper-rich heartland to the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, but its limited capacity has forced Zambia to rely heavily on road transport for copper exports, a critical pillar of its national economy.
CRCC has not disclosed the investment amount. However, Bloomberg reported in March 2025 that CCECC would invest $1.4 billion to upgrade the railway in exchange for a 30-year concession.
The three countries signed a memorandum of understanding at the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation in Beijing on Sept. 4, 2024. This was followed by the signing of a concession agreement and a government support agreement in Beijing on Sept. 29, 2025, after 17 rounds of negotiations.
Once upgraded, the railway’s annual freight capacity is expected to soar from about 200,000 tons to 2.4 million tons, while transit times are projected to be cut by two-thirds, according to CRCC. The project is also expected to create more than 20,000 jobs.
The joint statement said the three countries will use their comparative advantages to strengthen collaboration around the TAZARA corridor, explore integrating infrastructure resources to build a multimodal transport channel, and promote trade among African nations. They also aim to develop industrial parks and special economic zones along the route to support industrialization and agricultural modernization in Tanzania and Zambia.
The upgrade will involve replacing all rail sleepers and 390 kilometers of steel rails, repairing bridges, and reinforcing power and communication systems. Existing passenger services will also be retained and optimized, CRCC said.
Stretching 1,860.5 kilometers, the TAZARA railway was built with a 988 million yuan ($139 million) interest-free loan from China and involved more than 50,000 Chinese engineering and technical personnel.
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