In a major infrastructure push, China has finalized a $1.4 billion agreement with Tanzania and Zambia to revitalize a critical trade artery. The deal focuses on modernizing the decades-old Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA), a 1,860-kilometer line essential for transporting copper and cobalt from Zambian mines to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam. This strategic investment will upgrade the entire system, including tracks, locomotives, and rolling stock, to boost efficiency and capacity. The move solidifies Beijing’s economic influence in the region and positions the corridor as a premier route for exporting vital minerals. Notably, this development arrives as the United States champions a competing project, the Lobito Corridor, on the continent’s opposite side. This sets the stage for a new chapter of great-power competition, with African railways becoming the central arena for strategic and economic influence.
SEMAFOR
