Tanzania negotiates $280 million with Turkish Exim Bank for SGR
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Daily News
Illustrative image · Alex Levis · Pexels · Licence PexelsTanzania is in the final stages of negotiations with Exim Bank Türkiye for $280 million in financing to complete the third and fourth sections of the standard gauge railway (SGR). The sections, spanning more than 700 km, cost $1.6 billion, of which $1.32 billion has already been secured, according to Finance Minister Khamis Mussa Omar, who spoke on the sidelines of COP31 in Antalya, Turkey.
Tanzania is in the final stages of negotiations with Exim Bank Türkiye to obtain $280 million to finance the third and fourth sections of the standard gauge railway (SGR). The two sections, covering more than 700 km, cost a total of $1.6 billion, of which $1.32 billion has already been secured, Tanzanian Finance Minister Khamis Mussa Omar said on Thursday.
The discussions were held in Antalya, Turkey, on the sidelines of COP31, between a Tanzanian delegation led by Omar and the management of Exim Bank Türkiye, represented by its chief executive officer Ali Guney. The bank’s board of directors is due to consider the financing request during the month, Guney said.
Tanzania’s SGR is due to extend for more than 2,000 km to connect Dar es Salaam with western regions, notably Mwanza and Kigoma, as well as Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The first two sections, between Dar es Salaam and Dodoma, have already been completed and are in operation. Omar also highlighted the network’s electric propulsion, while Guney mentioned future financing for roads and bridges and the target set by Presidents Samia Suluhu Hassan and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of raising bilateral trade to at least $1 billion.
