Tanzania has secured a $1.277 billion financing deal with three European countries for two additional phases of its 2,560km standard gauge railway (SGR), backed by a fresh guarantee from Standard Chartered Plc.

 

The agreement, signed in Dodoma on April 28, involves export credit agencies from Sweden, Poland and Italy, and follows confirmation of renewed backing from the bank’s London headquarters earlier in the day.

The funding will support the construction of Lots 3 and 4, linking Makutupora in Dodoma to the Isaka dry port. As with the completed Lots 1 and 2 – from Dar es Salaam to Makutupora – the works will be undertaken by Turkish contractor Yapi Merkezi.

Funding boostStandard Chartered said earlier it had arranged a total of $2.33 billion in syndicated financing for the SGR along Tanzania’s central corridor, from the port of Dar es Salaam to Mwanza on Lake Victoria and Kigoma on Lake Tanganyika.

Transport Minister Prof Makame Mbarawa said the latest deal would strengthen one of Tanzania’s “most strategic” infrastructure projects, aimed at boosting regional integration and positioning the country as a logistics hub.

Project progressLaunched in 2017, the SGR has progressed steadily despite financing constraints that have led to revised timelines.

The 722km Dar es Salaam–Makutupora section, covering Lots 1 and 2, has been operational since June 2024, with freight services added in June 2025.

Lot 3 (Makutupora to Tabora) spans 294km, while Lot 4 (Tabora to Isaka) covers 130km.

Standard Chartered said it has acted as “sole global coordinator, bookrunner, mandated lead arranger, facility agent and lender” to Tanzania’s Ministry of Finance across multiple phases, including Lot 5 linking Isaka to Mwanza (about 249km).“The export credit agency (ECA) facilities for Lots 1 to 4 are comprised of support from EKN and SEK of Sweden, KUKE of Poland and SACE of Italy as the fronting ECAs with reinsurance from two more ECAs,” the bank said.

Financing for Lot 5, contracted to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), is based on a $559 million facility backed by China’s Sinosure.

Regional linksA sixth phase from Tabora to Kigoma (506km) is being built by CCECC and China Railway Construction Company, with partial funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB).

The AfDB approved a $696 million package in December 2023 to support this phase and planned extensions to Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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