Standard Chartered Arranges $2.33B Funding for Major Tanzania Railway Project
Overview of the Tanzania Standard Gauge Railway Financing
NAIROBI, April 28 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered Bank has successfully arranged a $2.33 billion syndicated financing facility for the Standard Gauge Railway project in Tanzania, the bank said on Tuesday.
Project Scope and Route Details
The money will finance two stretches of a planned 1,219 km railway line that links the commercial capital and port of Dar es Salaam and the lakeside city of Mwanza.
Key Contractors and Funding Sources
Turkey's Yapi Merkezi and China's China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation will undertake the works, the bank's statement said. Funding was secured from export credit agencies, commercial banks and development finance institutions, it added.
Strategic Importance and Economic Impact
"The construction and modernisation of the Standard Gauge Railway will connect the port of Dar es Salaam to key growth corridors in western Tanzania and neighbouring states, providing a reliable mode of transportation for people and cargo," the bank said.
"The SGR will spur the economic development of the interior areas of Tanzania."
Future Expansion Plans
Tanzania is aiming to construct a modern railway network of at least 2,561 km, connecting the East African country with landlocked neighbours Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
(Writintg by Elias BiryabaremaEditing by David Goodman)
