China Proposes Billion-Dollar Revamp of the Legendary Tazara Railway

The Tazara railway was originally financed and built by China in 1975 but has since fallen into severe disrepair due to a lack of resources. Photo by Zhang Haotian for CGSP.

The competition between the United States and China to refurbish some of Africa’s decrepit railways intensified this week when the Chinese government presented a billion-dollar proposal to rebuild the Tazara railway linking Zambia’s Copperbelt to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam.

Ambassador Du Xiaohui delivered the plan on Wednesday to Zambia’s Minister of Transportation, Frank Tayali, but did not release any details to the public.

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by Eric Olander

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