German media: TAZARA Railway 2.0: China increases investment in Africa

China has signed an agreement with Zambia and Tanzania to launch a railway upgrade project worth $1.4 billion, modernizing the TAZARA Railway built by China in the 1970s. Chinese state media called it another flagship project of the "Belt and Road Initiative."

On Thursday, November 20, China issued a joint statement with Zambia and Tanzania titled "Joint Statement on Working Together to Build a Prosperity Belt along the TAZARA Railway." The railway project agreement is worth $1.4 billion, planned to modernize the TAZARA Railway. This railway connects the landlocked country of Zambia with the Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

On Thursday, the Chinese Premier attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the "Activation Project" of the TAZARA Railway in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, together with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema and Tanzanian Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan. The Chinese Premier is the first Chinese Premier to visit Zambia in 28 years.

The Chinese side stated its willingness to work with Zambia and Tanzania to make this railway "inject more momentum into the development of Tazara countries and the entire African continent." Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema said that the TAZARA Railway is not just a railway line, "we see the TAZARA Railway as an economic corridor."

The TAZARA Railway was built by China in the 1970s, aiming to promote copper exports and fuel imports via Tanzania. It remains an important trade route to this day.

A representative from China Railway Corporation stated that the activation project is expected to take about three years, covering a total length of 1,860 kilometers, including track upgrades, procurement of over 800 new locomotives, and construction of bridges and tunnels. The official said that after the completion of the project, freight volume is expected to increase from the current 1 million tons per year to 2.4 million tons.

TAZARA Railway 2.0 vs. "Lobito Corridor"

China is one of Africa's largest trading partners, and has been committed to developing the continent's natural resources, including copper, gold, lithium, and rare earth minerals. China is also a major creditor to Zambia, holding significant shares in its mining industry. Zambia is the second-largest copper producer in Africa (after the Democratic Republic of Congo) and the seventh-largest copper producer in the world.

Data from the American Enterprise Institute shows that over the past two decades, Chinese companies have invested about $6 billion in Zambia, almost entirely concentrated in the metal industry.

Decoding China: China Intends to Expand Its Influence in Africa

The upgraded TAZARA Railway project is seen as a project competing with the "Lobito Corridor" supported by the United States and the European Union. The latter railway line runs from the Democratic Republic of Congo through Zambia to Lobito Port in Angola, connecting inland mines to the Atlantic, and is also an engineering project involving the upgrading and expansion of existing railways.

This project has received financing from the United States, the European Union, and other institutions. Last September, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) pledged to provide up to $200 million in funding for the Lobito Corridor railway project. After Trump returned to the White House, he also showed interest in key mineral resources in African countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Chinese state media said that the activation of the TAZARA Railway is another flagship project of the "Belt and Road Initiative." In September last year, China signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the TAZARA Railway Activation Project with Tanzania and Zambia. One year later, the project was signed in Beijing. The project has now officially started. After completion, China will have a 28-year concession right, and then the operating rights will be transferred to Zambia and Tanzania.

Sources: DW

Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1849453063284823/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author.