Tanzania: US $1.46 Billion for SGR Project

By Abdul Rahman Suagibu –

NEW AFRICA DAILY NEWS ( NADN ), Freetown, Sierra Leone- TANZANIA has had a breakthrough in its Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) outer financing and the government does not need to tower to scoop into its pouches to finish off the US $7.6 billion projects. On February, 13th 2020, the government of Tanzania autographed a building consensus with Standard Chartered Bank for a US $1.46 billion loans to fund the edifice of the first and second phases of the project, covering a latitude of approximately 550km from Dar es Salaam to Makutupora.

Standard Chartered Tanzania functioned as global co-ordinator, book runner and instructed lead arranger on the facility agreement that is, the largest foreign currency financing raised by the Ministry of Finance to date.

Tanzania had utilized to expending money from its coffers to finance the project which up to its completion, is rated to cost about US $7.6 billion.

Dr. Philip Mpango – Minister of Finance and Planning pronounced that, the considerable segment of the financing comes from the Export Credit Agency Covered Facility from the Export Credit Agencies of Denmark and Sweden.

According to the Tanzania Railways Corporation’s latest news on payment, the project has so far paid an approximate US $1.2 billion for two phases. The corporation’s Project Manager – Machibya Kadogosa verified to the press that, the two phases are currently being built by a Turkish company – Yapi Merkezi, in alliance with Portuguese company, Mota-Engil Africa. The first phase is finished by 72%.

Apropos, three months ago, another potential financier, Trade and Development Bank for Eastern and Southern African, had articulated its readiness to award a soft loan to enable in order to add to the growth of a mega economic projects presently going on in the country.

The bank’s president, Dr. Admassu Tadesse, vowed to co-operate with the country when fulfilling with Finance Minister Dr. Phillip Mpango in Dodoma, and the two held talks on the county’s development vision.

On February, 17th 2020, the African Union notified, it was equipping to enforce two cross-border high-speed train projects, the first infrastructure projects of its kind, according to AU’s Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy Abou-Zedi Amani.

“One flagship project of Agenda 2063 is a high-speed train connecting African capitals,” noted Mr. Amani, addling that, the Bujumbura-Dar es Salaam line is one of the two train projects. The continental high-speed train project is part of the AU’s flagship Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (Pida) inaugurated in 2012.

The programme intends for support of the comprehensive goal of Agenda 2063 modeled to improve socio-economic modification on the landmass in the coming decades. Pida will focus on smart and integrated hallway approaches, renewable energy, job creation, and digitalization.

“We are happy to announce that, we have finalized the master plan for the high-speed trains approved by African ministers last year. Once fully implemented, these projects will be among the important achievements of the AU,” Amani noted.

Tanzania had, in the preceding year, strived to get a grant from exterior references for the project from diverse international donors and banks. At some point, the government through the Minister for Foreign Affairs and East Africa Co-operation – Prof Palamagamba Kabudi, divulged that it was pursuing to obtain unlimited loans from the Republic of China to trace the construction. In the circumstances while Professor Kabudi was announcing this at the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation in Beijing, the government was also busy marshaling capital to sponsor the project as hastily.

For New Africa Daily News Abdul Rahman Suagibu Reports,  Africa Correspondent

www.newafricadailynews.com