Andre Klynsmith

Railway

TAZARA's 30-Year Concession: How a US$1.4 Billion Railway Revival Will Reshape Freight Corridors Across SADC

Tanzania and Zambia have signed a landmark 30-year concession agreement with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), committing US$1.4 billion to rehabilitate the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) and restore one of Southern Africa's most strategically important freight corridors.

Railway

11 March 2026 • 4 min read

A 30-year CCECC concession worth US$1.4 billion is set to transform TAZARA from a struggling railway into a high-capacity freight corridor. For SADC logistics operators, this rehabilitation signals a significant shift in how copper, coal, and containerised cargo will move between the Copperbelt and the Indian Ocean coast.

What Was Agreed and When

Tanzania, Zambia, and China formally signed a tripartite concession agreement at the end of 2025, handing CCECC a 30-year mandate to rehabilitate and operate TAZARA. A foundation stone-laying ceremony was held in Lusaka on 20 November 2025, marking the official start of the project. Full rehabilitation works are scheduled to begin in June 2026.

Under the concession terms, CCECC will pay TAZARA a fixed fee of US$15 million per year while taking on full operational and capital responsibilities. The procurement plan includes 34 locomotives, 760 freight wagons, 18 passenger coaches, and 2 passenger train sets — all aimed at dramatically increasing throughput on the 1,860-kilometre line between Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

Why TAZARA Matters for the SADC Region

TAZARA was built in the 1970s to give landlocked Zambia an export route to the Indian Ocean that bypassed apartheid South Africa. While its political significance has long since faded, the corridor's geographic value has only grown. It connects Zambia's Copperbelt directly to Dar es Salaam, offering an alternative to the congested Beira corridor and the long Southern Ports route via South Africa.

In recent decades, chronic locomotive failures, slow transit times, and deteriorating track have pushed most freight to road. A fully rehabilitated TAZARA would offer meaningful competition for bulk mineral exports from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo — particularly copper and cobalt, two of the world's most critical minerals for the energy transition.

Competing with the Lobito Corridor

The TAZARA revival comes as the US and EU-backed Lobito Atlantic Railway — running from Angola's Atlantic coast to the DRC Copperbelt — has already begun its first commercial copper and cobalt shipments in early 2026. TAZARA and Lobito are now directly competing for the same cargo flows from the DRC and Zambia's mining regions, but to different ocean exits: Indian Ocean east via TAZARA, Atlantic west via Lobito.

This competition is healthy for the region. Shippers and mining companies will benefit from choice, lower rates, and reduced concentration risk. Rail operators on both routes will face pressure to deliver reliable, cost-competitive service — a significant shift from the road-dominant model that has prevailed across SADC for the past two decades.

About the Author
	Andre Klynsmith Entrepreneur & Technology Enthusiast Andre's expertise spans technology, blockchain, transport, and logistics — with a passion for innovation and driving positive change across industries. info@laaimylorrie.com | laaimylorrie.com