Tanzania has set in motion the process to acquire rolling stock to be used on the standard-gauge railway (SGR) network that is currently under construction as it vies to become East Africa’s transport hub.

According to an international tender notice floated by State-run railway company Reli Assets Holding Company (RAHCO), Tanzania intends to buy 19 electric trains, 60 passenger coaches and 1 530 freight wagons, besides others.

The 1 500-plus wagons include 500 box wagons, 200 oil tankers, 50 bulk wagons, 70 gondola wagons, 50 ballast hoppers and 50 double-stack container wagons.

“The government of Tanzania, through RAHCO, has set aside funds for the operation of RAHCO during the financial year 2017/18. It is intended that part of the . . . funds will be used to cover eligible payments under the contract for the supply, testing and commissioning of rolling stock for the SGR network,” reads the notice.

With the electric trains, Tanzania intends to position itself as a regional transport hub, after contracting Turkish company Yapi Merkezi Insaat VE anayi As to construct the country’s first high-speed electric railway line, which will be 422 km long.

The line, designed to enable a maximum speed of 160 km/h for passenger trains and 120 km/h for freight trains, will cost $1.92-billion, and the project is expected to be completed within 30 months.

The line, from Morogoro to Makutupora, both in central Tanzania, will have the capacity to transport 170-million tons of cargo a year.

Tanzania has also signed a $1.2-billion deal with a consortium comprising Yapi Merkezi and Portugal’s Mota-Engil Engenharia e Construção África to build another 300 km railway line.

The two projects form part of the $14.2-billion Tanzania intends to spend over the next five years to build a 2 561 km SGR network, which will enable it to become a transport hub serving Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The process of awarding three additional tenders to build another 700 km of railway line is ongoing.

Tanzania wants to be in a position to compete with Kenya for cargo and logistics business in East Africa. Last year, Kenya inaugurated the 472 km diesel SGR line stretching from the port city of Mombasa to the capital, Nairobi, and plans to upgrade it to an electric line over the next four year.

Statistics from the Central Corridor Transport Observatory show that a total of 11.7-million tons of goods entered the region through the central corridor in Tanzania, and 22.6-million tons through the northern corridor in Kenya.