Reports Leo Odera Omolo

TANZANIA, Africa’s third largest gold producing Africa nation has envisaged plans to construct a railway line to open up its mineral rich Northern region to boost the country’s coal and iron ore revenues.

The planned rail project is estimated to cost a colossal amount of money to the tune of USD 1.5 billion {Tshs 2.3 trillion}.

The 850 kilometer railway line whose construction is set to begin next year, will link coal and iron ore mining projects in Mchuchuma and Liganga respectively to the Mtwara port in Southern Tanzania.

The deputy Minister for Transport Athumani Mfutakamba was last week quoted in the local press as having made the announcement while in the country’s political capital, Dodoma that negotiations between the National Development Corporation and Sichuan Hongda Corporation of China over the necessary infrastructure were at an advanced stage.

The Mchuchuma iron ore and Liganga Coal reserves located in the Southern highlands have the potential to create an estimated 40,000 jobs to spur iron and steel industries in the country and boost coal exports.

The project will be the second largest single operation since the 1970s when China built the USED 500 million 1860-kilometer long Tanzania-Zambia Railway line {TAZARA} from Dar Es Salaam to Kapiri Mposhi,

Another senior government official disclosed that investor in the Liganga and Mchuchuma iron ore project has set aside Tshs 10 trillion {USD 625 billion} for the project implementation.

The Deputy Minister for Trade, Industry and Marketing Lazaro Nyalanda said the project is expected to contribute between 20 and 25 per cent of the country’s GDP.

Coal deposits at Mchuchuma which is located near the border of Malawi and Mozambique are provisionally estimated at 1253 million tones while iron ore deposits in the Liganga area are estimated to be 45 million tones. These are to be exploited jointly to stimulate an iron and steel industry that depends largely on the agricultural sector.

Transport Minister Omari Nundu in his part said the railway line will boost trade with neighboring Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia.

“The railway line will attract passenger traffic because of the huge potential in mineral and agricultural activities in the region, said Minister Nundu.

Thd Finance Minister Mustafa Mkulo reported that the government plans to spend USD 34 million in 2011.202 financial year in conducting feasibility studies and detailed design of Mtwara-Songea-Liganga railway line.

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