The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
5 November 2008
Bujumbura — Landlocked Burundi and Rwanda will start work next year to build a 691 km (430 mile) railway line connecting both countries to Tanzania, Burundi's transport minister Philippe Njoni said.
Work on the line, which will cost an estimated $4 billion, will take five years.
"The main objective of this project is to reduce the cost of imported merchandise," he told Reuters.
"Economic studies showed that the railway will lower the cost of transport of merchandise from 40 per cent (of total costs) to five per cent." Construction will be funded by Burundi, Rwanda and donors, the minister said, adding that both countries will work with Tanzania to seek finance.
Discussions have started with the African Development Bank, which financed the feasibility studies, he said. The railway will aid exports of the tiny central African nation's main hard currency earner, coffee.
It will also help movement of minerals such as nickel through Dar es Salaam and Mombasa ports. "Burundi will be able to easily export 15,000 tonnes of coffee in a very short period of time.
The project presents a great advantage on the economic plan of our respective countries," he said.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2008 The Citizen. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
I can't wait until this train line is built. It will make such a difference in the countries. I want to ride it from one end to the other when it opens.