China, Tanzania, Zambia sign deal on key railway project

President Xi Jinping witnessed the signing of the memorandum of understanding on a Tanzania-Zambia railway project with the Tanzanian and Zambian presidents, who were in Beijing attending the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, said broadcaster CCTV.

"China is willing to take this summit as an opportunity to make new progress in the activation of the Tanzania-Zambia railway, cooperate to improve the rail-sea intermodal transport network in East Africa, and build Tanzania into a demonstration zone for deepening high-quality China-Africa Belt and Road cooperation," said Xi, according to state media.

Earlier this year, the World Bank approved $270 million in financing to help improve connectivity between neighbours Tanzania and Zambia and boost regional trade.

The Dar es Salaam corridor between the two countries, a key route for copper exports from the central African Copperbelt region, is serviced by the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA).

The link offers an alternative to bypass logistics bottlenecks in South Africa that have held up copper and cobalt exports from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.