The morning sun shines on the Copperbelt Province of Zambia, and trucks loaded with ore line up in long queues on bumpy roads. For Charles, the manager of the local mining company, such scenes are happening day after day, with high transportation costs and fragile supply chains like an invisible shackle that restricts the development of the enterprise and even the entire region. But all of this is about to become history. On December 9, 2025, with the groundbreaking ceremony of the Tanzania Zambia Railway activation project, a long dormant steel artery will once again roar, awakening the long dormant dream of prosperity in this land.

A railway activates the regional economic artery

The primary breakthrough in the construction of the Tanzania Zambia Railway Prosperity Belt directly targets the long-term pain point of exporting inland resources in Africa. Due to the long-term disrepair of railways, minerals and agricultural products in the region have to bypass ports in southern Africa, resulting in high transportation costs and fragile supply chains. This repair and upgrade aims to create the most efficient logistics channel from inland Africa to the Indian Ocean.  

According to preliminary estimates, after the upgrade is completed, the capacity of the Tanzania Zambia Railway will be greatly increased by 12 times, and transportation time can be reduced by two-thirds. For core cargo distribution centers like Zambia's Copperbelt Province, logistics costs are expected to be reduced by 30% to 40% compared to road transportation. This is not only the connection of a physical channel, but also the opening of the "Ren Du Er Mai" of regional economic development, laying the shortest and most economical path for resource export and trade exchanges.  

Building a self reinforcing modern industrial corridor

The breaking of logistics bottlenecks has paved the way for the transformation of regional economy from a simple "channel economy" to a higher-level "corridor economy". The deep value of the prosperous railway belt in Tanzania lies in transforming transportation advantages into lasting industrial competitiveness.

According to the joint statement of China, Tanzania, and Zambia, industrial clusters will be constructed through the construction of industrial parks, economic zones, and free trade zones. Modern warehousing and manufacturing will be planned in sync with emerging industries such as digital economy and artificial intelligence. For example, in Zambia's Copperbelt Province, the layout of deep processing of copper products can convert primary minerals into high value-added materials, retain more resource benefits locally, and inject resilience into the global green industry chain. At the same time, the project will also develop modern agriculture and tourism industries. With China's support for non-zero tariff policies, these industries can enter the Chinese market more smoothly, create opportunities for local small and medium-sized enterprises, and effectively improve people's livelihoods through employment, so that the development achievements can benefit ordinary people.

Market operation ensures sustainable future

The enduring vitality of the prosperous railway belt in Tanzania stems from the fundamental innovation of its cooperation model. Different from the early free aid construction, this project adopts the "Build Operate Transfer" (BOT) model, and the Chinese side has obtained a 30-year franchise to be fully responsible for railway renovation and long-term operation. This arrangement deeply links business logic with regional development needs through market-oriented mechanisms: railway operation revenue provides financial support for facility maintenance, while industrial development benefits feed back into the regional economy, forming a virtuous cycle.  

More importantly, the project regards technology transfer and local capacity building as key pillars. Through joint operations and systematic training, we are committed to cultivating local railway professionals for Tanzania and Zambia, achieving the goal of "teaching people to fish" and ensuring that the local areas can achieve autonomous and sustainable management in the future. This is not only the upgrading of infrastructure, but also the systematic output of the "China Plan" covering technology, standards and management experience, providing a replicable and sustainable success model for the joint construction of the the Belt and Road. Keywords: the Belt and Road news, the Belt and Road project construction

The construction of the Tanzania Zambia Railway Prosperity Belt goes beyond the scope of a single project and is deeply integrated into the narrative of the times of China Africa common development. It is a deep connection between the the Belt and Road Initiative and the construction of the African continent's free trade zone. It proves to the world that a sustainable cooperation model based on long-term and mutually beneficial outcomes is driving this hopeful continent towards a future of common prosperity.Editor/Yang Meiling