Recently, a rail sleeper production base is being intensively prepared in the Mbeya region of southwestern Tanzania. China Railway 22nd Bureau has just won a heavyweight contract to produce 750000 concrete sleepers and 166 sets of switch sleepers for the activation project of the Tanzania Zambia Railway. This path of friendship spanning half a century is moving from aid construction to revitalization, from repairing the old to revitalizing.

From the Path of Freedom to the Path of Prosperity

The total length of the Tanzania Zambia Railway is 1860.5 kilometers, starting from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania in the east and ending at New Kapirim Poxi in Zambia in the west. It is one of the largest foreign aid projects since the founding of the People's Republic of China. During the era of African national liberation movements, this railway opened up a sea route for the landlocked country Zambia, which was known as the Road to Freedom by the African people. Half a century has passed, and the annual freight volume has dropped from its peak to about 200000 tons. After the activation project is completed, the freight capacity will jump to 2.4 million tons, an increase of more than ten times, and the transportation time is expected to be reduced by two-thirds.

750000 railway sleepers laid on the skeleton

The production task of 750000 concrete sleepers and 166 sets of switch sleepers is a key prerequisite for railway activation from blueprint to physical construction. The replacement of the entire track requires the support of rail sleeper production, and China Railway 22nd Bureau will undertake a production period of 25 months. Previously, the railway sleeper factory of China Railway 15th Bureau won the bid for the Zambia section, and the sleeper supply chain of the Tanzania Zambia Railway activation project is being fully deployed. This is another important breakthrough for China Railway 22nd Bureau in the East African market, following the upgrading and renovation of municipal roads in Zanzibar. Keywords: the Belt and Road news, railway, infrastructure

Franchising opens up a new path for going global

The activation of the Tanzan Railway adopts a market-oriented franchise model, with China Civil Engineering, a subsidiary of China Railway Construction, coordinating the implementation of renovation and later operation. The activation of railways has been deeply linked to the construction of prosperous zones. China Railway Construction has promised to prioritize the procurement of local raw materials, select local subcontractors, and increase local employee skills training. The three countries will promote hard connectivity of railways, highways, and ports, as well as soft connectivity of customs, inspection, and taxation. For Chinese enterprises wishing to participate in the African railway market, forming a general contracting and subcontracting cooperation relationship with the general contracting unit is an efficient way to enter the market.Editor/Gao Xue