The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) has committed a substantial $1.4 billion investment to revitalise the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA), marking a strategic enhancement of transport infrastructure critical to southern and central African trade. The announcement was made during the Zambia International Mining and Energy Conference, where TAZARA CEO Bruno Ching’andu outlined the investment’s scope and structural framework.
The funding agreement, which is being structured as a 30-year concession, allocates approximately $1 billion towards the comprehensive rehabilitation of TAZARA’s railway tracks. The remaining funds will be directed toward procuring 32 modern locomotives and 762 freight wagons, significantly enhancing the line’s operational capacity. The upgrade comes at a time when regional export routes, particularly through South Africa, face significant logistical constraints.
TAZARA, a legacy project dating back five decades, was originally constructed with Chinese support. The line connects the copper-rich heartlands of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. It serves as a critical export corridor for copper and cobalt — key commodities for global electronics and battery industries. Further background on TAZARA’s history and strategic function is available here.
This reinvestment by China follows a 2024 agreement to revive the railway, underscoring Beijing’s sustained interest in Africa’s infrastructure development. The renewed focus comes amidst growing competition from alternative trade corridors, most notably the U.S.-backed Lobito Corridor, which links the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia to Angola’s Atlantic seaboard via the Lobito port. Although initiated under President Joe Biden’s administration with a $550 million U.S. loan, the corridor’s future under President Donald Trump remains ambiguous. Nevertheless, financiers including the Africa Finance Corporation and Trafigura have affirmed that the project will proceed independently of U.S. political direction.
The CCECC’s investment is being structured with an initial three-year phase of rail construction and rehabilitation, followed by 27 years of operations and maintenance under the concession framework. Although the agreement has yet to be finalised, both parties have signalled strong intent to conclude negotiations soon.
China’s involvement in TAZARA forms part of a broader recalibration of its financial engagements on the continent. After reaching a peak of $28.4 billion in lending in 2016, Chinese financing to Africa dropped to a two-decade low by 2022. Concerns over repayment sustainability — particularly in nations like Zambia and Ghana, which defaulted on sovereign debt — have prompted Beijing to adopt a more cautious lending strategy. Yet, high-impact strategic projects such as the TAZARA upgrade and the earlier $5 billion investment in Kenya’s standard gauge railway remain emblematic of China’s continued infrastructural influence. Read more on China’s evolving Africa strategy here.
The TAZARA investment stands to redefine regional transport dynamics by easing congestion across southern export routes and supporting mineral supply chains critical to the global green energy transition. In an era marked by shifting geopolitical alignments and evolving trade corridors, this development offers a pragmatic solution to enduring infrastructural deficiencies across southern Africa.
