On September 27, 2026, at the Zhongtu Building in Beijing, a pen fell, and the financing for the activation project of the Tanzania Zambia Railway broke through. CRCC, CCECC, and experts from syndicated law firms witnessed the signing of the loan agreement. This steel artery spanning Tanzania and Zambia, with a total length of 1860.5 kilometers, is finally waiting to activate its confidence.

Syndicate brings timely financing rain

At the ceremony, representatives from all parties jointly signed the loan agreement. The attendees included Zhu Hongbiao, member of the Standing Committee of the CRCC Party Committee and Chief Accountant, Li Chongyang, Secretary and Chairman of the CCECC Party Committee, Liu Dong, Deputy General Manager, as well as leaders of banking groups such as China Export Import Bank, China Development Bank, Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Standard Bank, and experts from law firms such as Beijing King&Wood Mallesons and Beijing Haiwen. In his speech, Zhu Hongbiao said that this signing marks a breakthrough in project financing and lays a solid foundation for the comprehensive construction of funds. The project team will inherit the spirit of the Tanzania Zambia Railway, follow the principle of consultation, co construction, and sharing, and while building the railway with high quality, rely on the main channel to drive the coordinated layout of logistics, warehousing, manufacturing, new energy and other industries along the line, and build the Tanzania Zambia Railway into a path of development and prosperity. Keywords: Tanzania Zambia Railway, Loan Financing, China Africa Interconnection

The old railway runs at a new speed

As the leading bank of the consortium, Wang Kang from the Export Import Bank of China delivered a speech on behalf of the consortium, stating that the formal signing of the loan agreement marks a new stage of comprehensive implementation of the project construction. It is a concrete action to implement the important consensus of the three heads of state and a landmark achievement of policy based financial support for infrastructure connectivity between China and Africa. All parties have reached a consensus that the next step will be to coordinate and promote various work such as survey and design, engineering construction, locomotive and vehicle procurement, and operation preparation. The Tanzania Zambia Railway spans across Tanzania and Zambia, with a total length of 1860.5 kilometers. The project, which will be activated in 2025, has entered the comprehensive construction phase. After activation is completed, the freight capacity is expected to significantly increase to 2.4 million tons per year, and the transportation time for goods may be shortened by nearly two-thirds.Editor/Min Jing