Tanzania Launches Rail-Lake Trade Corridor to DRC

Tanzania has launched a major package of railway, port and cargo-vessel projects designed to turn Kigoma into a stronger trade gateway between the Indian Ocean and the Great Lakes region.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan laid the foundation stone for the Tabora–Kigoma section of Tanzania's Standard Gauge Railway on July 20, 2026. During the same event in Kigoma, she also launched four new cargo vessels and expansion works at Kigoma Port on Lake Tanganyika.

Together, the projects are intended to create a faster transport chain linking Dar es Salaam with western Tanzania, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi.

The main project is the 506-kilometre Tabora–Kigoma SGR, also known as Lot Six of Tanzania's modern railway network.

Tanzania Railways Corporation says the section includes 411 kilometres of main railway line and 95 kilometres of passing loops and sidings. It will also have 10 passenger stations and two major freight terminals at Uvinza and Katosho.

The Citizen reported the value of the rail project at Sh6.31 trillion during the July 20 launch. When the construction contract was signed in December 2022, TRC valued it at $2.21 billion, then equivalent to Sh5.12 trillion.

The railway is being built by a joint venture between China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation and China Railway Construction Corporation.

Construction has passed 10 percent, according to figures reported at the launch, and completion is now scheduled for 2030. This means the ceremony marked the formal launch of the project in Kigoma, not the opening of a completed railway service.

Four cargo vessels added to Lake Tanganyika

President Samia also launched four cargo vessels intended to increase the movement of goods across Lake Tanganyika.