Three East African nations have vowed to accelerate the construction of a crucial railway project aimed at interlinking their economies and boosting trade.

Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi say implementation of the Dar es Salaam–Isaka–Kigali–Keza–Gitega–Musongoti railway project should start soon, after the three governments embarked on a process to mobilise funding.
The project, intended to connect landlocked Rwanda and Burundi to the Port of Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania, has a price tag of $5.2-billion.

As part of plans to accelerate the project, which is being marketed as critical in boosting regional trade, the three governments are seeking a transaction adviser to help source funds and oversee the project’s implementation.

“The transaction adviser will be required to review the available technical, financial and legal due diligence to ensure a successful completion of the project,” Rwanda’s Ministry of Infrastructure says in a statement.

The adviser will also be required to oversee the transaction structuring, including investment options, analysis and evaluation, assist the three governments in preparing for and implement the public–private partnership procurement process and provide investment risk management advisory services.

According to the statement, the three governments expect construction to start within the next 24 months.

Conceived in the late 1990s, the project has remained in limbo, owing to delays in under- taking feasibility studies, which are critical for soliciting for funds.

Recently, Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete said the three governments had completed a detailed joint study of the project, which showed it was viable.

“We plan to capitalise on our long coastline and upgrade existing railways and roads to serve growing economies in the landlocked heart of Africa,” he noted.

Currently, Rwanda and Burundi depend on the central transport corridor through Tanzania to access the Dar es Salaam port. The two countries also use the longer and more expensive north transport corridor to link to the Mombasa port, in Kenya, through Uganda.

The envisaged project is part of the East Africa Railway Master Plan.