THE director general of Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC), Mr Masanja Kadogosa, and the acting chairman of Turkish contractor Yapi Merkezi, Mr Erdem Arioglu, have signed a $US 1.9bn contract to build the 358km Makutupora – Tabora section of the Tanzania standard gauge railway (SGR).

Yapi Merkezi is already constructing the 205km Dar es Salaam – Morogoro and 348km Morogoro – Makutopora sections of the 1211km line, which will run from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza, and expects to sign a contract for a fourth 167km Tabora – Isaka section “very soon.” Electrical testing on the Dar es Salaam – Morogoro section began in May 2021.

Overseeing the signing, the president of Tanzania, Ms Samia Suluhu Hassan, said the contract took the total investment in the SGR project to Shillings 14.7 trillion ($US 6.38bn).

The Makutupora – Tabora section includes 294km of mainline and 74km of branch lines, with seven stations along the route. The contract includes construction of the single-track line and the signalling and electrification, and will be completed in October 2025.