Tanzania and Rwanda have announced that the construction of the 571km-long standard gauge railway line linking Isaka township in Tanzania with the Rwandan capital, Kigali will begin this December once a contractor has been identified.
The announcement was made through a joint statement by the Tanzania Minister for Works, Transport and Communication, Isaack Kamwelwe, and his Rwandan counterpart Claver Getete when the two met recently in Dar es Salaam to finalise plans of the $2.5 billion project.
The ministers were accompanied by members of the Joint Technical Monitoring Committee.
The two countries also agreed on the financing modalities, with Tanzania seeking a loan to fund the Isaka-Rusumo stretch and Rwanda opting for a public-private partnership model for its stretch of the line.
When completed, the railway line is expected to improve trade between the two countries by making it easy and cheaper for people and cargo to move across the common border.
On a state visit to Tanzania in January, President Paul Kagame and his host President John Magufuli, jointly asked for the fast-tracking of the project.
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