AfricaPress-Tanzania: PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa has expressed satisfaction with the ongoing construction of the second phase of Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Morogoro to Makutupora, saying it is likely to be completed ahead of schedule.
Speaking after touring the section between Igandu and Dodoma stations, he said the ongoing construction has reached 51.9 percent.
He hailed the Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) management for the good work that has seen the construction go as per expectations of the government, noting that it might be completed ahead of the February 2022 schedule.
Building a modern railway line and other infrastructure constructions in the country is part of the government’s commitment to improve transport and communication as well as improving the conditions of doing business, he said.
“I am impressed by the ongoing construction of the railway line and during this tour I witnessed people busy building the rail lines,” he stated, reminding the audience that upon completion it will ease transport between Dar es Salaam and Dodoma.
The Morogoro-Makutupora section, covering 426 kilometers, will create 30,000 direct employment opportunities and some 60,000 indirect jobs on completion, he said.
The section is part of the 2,561 kilometers SGR system to link Tanzania to neighboring countries of Rwanda and Uganda, while it cuts through Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The premier noted that while SGR is intended to replace the old metre-gauge main railway, it will run concurrently with the old one, passing the villages and districts of the old line.
He said the use of trains instead of road transport shall reduce costs, save roads from damage and conserve the environment by reducing road haulage carbon emissions.
The SGR facility will cut down the cost of moving bulk freight by up to 40 percent, he stated, expressing the view that in the bigger picture of things, modern railway transport helps to cut the cost of living for the entire nation.
This is so because by reducing the transport cost, then traders of the delivered goods can also afford to reduce the prices of final products, such that the final buyer can also save some money as the goods are sold more cheaply.
The premier praised the construction company Yapi Merkez of Turkey for doing a good job, promising that the government would consider giving it more jobs in the next phase of the SGR construction.
Earlier, TRC director general Masanja Kadogosa told the premier that the second phase of the construction was going on well and would be completed on time.
Prof John Kondoro, the chairman of the TRC Board of Directors praised the government for its efforts to improve rail transport in the country.
