The Private sector has been encouraged to grab opportunities in the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) transport operations, an initiative that would help in job creation and contribute to economic development.
completion, the SGR will increase freight services whereby the railway will have the capacity to carry up to 10,000 tonnes of cargo per trip which is about 500 cargo trucks where there is room for private sector engagement.
Therefore, the private sector should make the best use of opportunities that will be emerging from the SGR transport operations.
Speaking recently when a team of 32 party chairpersons from all regions in Mainland and Zanzibar and several Central Committee members toured the Dar es Salaam- Dodoma SGR section, the Minister for Works and Transport, Prof Makame Mbarawa said the government will allow private sectors to participate in transport operations of the SGR.
"The government will allow the private sector for those who can buy locomotives or passenger carriages to enter the transportation of passengers and goods. This project will benefit everyone in their way.
The government will not do it," said Prof Mbarawa. Prof Mbarawa said the government aims to strengthen the transport sector which will involve the private sector to expand the economy by enabling people's movement across the country.
He said the SGR is expected to boost the agriculture sector through the transportation of farm produce from upcountry to urban areas as well as to reduce carbon emissions compared to diesel-powered trains used by other countries in the region.
Prof Mbarawa said before the railway was designed for a speed of 120 km per hour but they received views from stakeholders to increase the speed, therefore they changed it to 160 km per hour.
"Stakeholders were concerned why we were building a railway system that will use diesel instead of electricity and after consulting experts, we came up with this model project which has also attracted the attention of other countries," Prof Mbarawa said.
"We are now going to link Tanzania with other countries such as Burundi, Congo and Rwanda," he said.
"I would like to assure Tanzanians that all projects are implemented as planned, there is no project that has been stalled," he said. We have already signed agreements with Burundi and DRC on the extension of the railroad to their countries," the minister explained.
Extension of the SGR to Burundi and Rwanda and later the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is aimed at tapping transportation of heavy minerals in Tanzania as well as DRCs. The Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC) Director General, Mr Masanja Kadogosa said the SGR project is the implementation of the CCM election manifesto.
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He said the completion of SGR will help to improve social community welfare through Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR). Mr Kadogosa also said that once connected to the landlinked countries like Uganda, DRC, Rwanda, and Burundi the nation will have access to a market of over 300 million people in the region.
He said SGR is the most widely used railway track gauge across the world, with approximately 55 per cent of the lines in the world using it since it can transport more passengers and cargo at high speed compared to Meter gauge Railway (MGR) which has been in use in Tanzania since the colonial era.
Tanzania is the first country in the East African Community (EAC) to undertake an SGR project which uses both diesel and electric-powered locomotives and can accommodate passenger trains travelling at 160 kilometres per hour.
