Mtwara Railway to Connect Lake Malawi with the Indian Ocean in Tanzania

Tanzania Railways Corporation has signed a memorandum of understanding with Egypt’s Arab Contractors for technical and financial work on a standard-gauge railway linking Mtwara Port, Songea and Mbamba Bay. The roughly 1,000-kilometre network would connect the Indian Ocean with Lake Malawi and serve the Mchuchuma coal and Liganga iron and steel projects. Arab Contractors will fund the preliminary work and is expected to submit an initial report within three months; Transport Minister Makame Mbarawa said the study must assess demand, costs, economic benefits and financing options. Earlier feasibility work and financing efforts have not resolved the project’s viability, which depends in part on renewed progress at the industrial and mining projects expected to generate freight.