• Three nations approve feasibility progress for cross-border SGR project
• Railway to link cities, boost trade via Dar es Salaam
• Project faces competition, financing and coordination challenges

Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo have approved a progress report on the feasibility study for the Msongati-Kindu section of their joint standard gauge railway (SGR) corridor. The endorsement, reached in Kinshasa, marks progress in implementing the electric rail project, designed to serve as the backbone of a logistics network across East and Central Africa.

The project calls for linking the cities of Uvinza, Musongati, Gitega, Bujumbura and Uvira to Kindu, facilitating the movement of goods and passengers among the three countries. The infrastructure is also intended to strengthen connectivity between landlocked nations and the port of Dar es Salaam, the region's main commercial hub. Data show that the DRC is the port's single largest user, with more than 5.9 million metric tons of cargo handled in the 2024/25 fiscal year. This underscores the country's role as a major trading partner of Tanzania, as the future SGR line could further stimulate trade flows.

The initiative comes as Tanzania steps up investment to cement its role as East Africa's maritime gateway. Competing with Kenya's port of Mombasa, which serves a similar hinterland, the country is investing in integrated infrastructure to capture freight flows from landlocked states. Alongside the railway, road corridor development and inland waterway transport projects are under way to improve regional interconnection.

Competing projects are also emerging. Kenya is exploring a cross-border rail project targeting the same markets, while the Lobito Corridor, designed to link Zambia and the DRC to the Atlantic coast, is entering a critical phase as financing is mobilized.

Despite these advances, the project's completion will depend on overcoming several challenges. Competition from regional corridors could affect both implementation timelines and the project's commercial viability. Further obstacles include financing constraints, coordination among partner states, and alignment of technical standards along the cross-border route.

Henoc Dossa