By Isaac Zulu
The revenue for TAZARA has jumped by US$2.5 million, from $24.280 million in 2022 to $26.78 million in 2023, despite not reaching targets in terms of traffic volumes.
And the TAZARA Board of Directors has officially announced China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) as the company to negotiate on the concessioning of TAZARA.
According to a communique issued by the railway company’s Corporation Secretary Marco Mabala, the TAZARA Board of Directors commended management for engaging a second private operator under the Open Access arrangements.
“The Board acknowledged and recognized Management’s proactive efforts aimed at improving the performance and underscored the pivotal role of innovation in sustaining the furthering these positive trends. Management was recommended for engaging a second private operator under Open Access arrangements. The Board also noted the allocation of 16 per cent of earnings from Open Access to railway infrastructure maintenance but urged an increase to 20 per cent for enhanced track reliability,” Mabala stated. “The Board acknowledged the commitment of the two Heads of State from Tanzania and Zambia, Her Excellency Dr Samia Suhulu and His Excellency Mr Hakainde Hichilema, respectively; and the directives of the TAZARA Council of Ministers to revitalize TAZARA operations with the involvement of Chinese investors. The Board noted that China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), had been officially introduced by the government of the People’s Republic of China, as the company to negotiate with on the concession of TAZARA and that a proposal from CCECC was expected by the end of October 2023.”
The TAZARA Board of Directors also noted that the total freight volumes moved by the railway company dropped by 3.7 per cent during the financial year 2021/2022.
“During the year 2022/2023, the revenue amounted to $26.78 million, marking a notable increase from $24.280 million earned in the prior financial year 2021/2022. However, the Authority could not reach the planned target in traffic volumes due to the closure at the Chambeshi Bridge and at kilometre 211, along with challenges arising from equipment reliability issues. During the year, the total freight volumes moved on the TAZARA line dropped by 3.7 per cent from 337,475 metric tons in the financial year 2021/2022 to 324,903 metric tons in the financial year 2022/2023,” stated Mabala. “In the realm of passenger traffic, the cumulative count of travelers across the various types of passenger trains witnessed a 1 percent decrease, with the figure dropping to 2,738,452 passengers documented in the fiscal year. The primary limitation confronting passenger services remained the constrained availability of train coaches. The volume of interstate passengers traveling between Tanzania and Zambia surged by 14 per cent, escalating from 469,551 passengers in the financial year 2021/2022 to 534,603 passengers in the financial year 2022/2023, surpassing the target by 7 per cent. The substantial growth was attributed to the reopening of the Chambeshi Bridge and a concurrent rise in bus fares.”
