Standard Chartered Bank announced on Tuesday (28) that it has successfully arranged a syndicated loan of $2.33 billion for the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project in Tanzania.
The funds will finance two sections of a planned 1,219-kilometer railway line connecting the economic capital and port of Dar es Salaam to the lakeside city of Mwanza.
The construction work will be carried out by the Turkish company Yapi Merkezi and the Chinese China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, according to the bank’s statement. The financing was secured by export credit agencies, commercial banks, and development finance institutions.
“The construction and modernization of the standard-gauge railway line will connect the port of Dar es Salaam to key growth corridors in western Tanzania and neighboring countries, providing a reliable means of transport for passengers and goods,” the bank stated.
“The SGR will boost economic development in the country’s inland regions.”
Tanzania aims to build a modern railway network of at least 2,561 kilometers, connecting the East African country to landlocked neighbors such as Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Source: Reuters
