Uganda plans to connect a new railway line it is building to a network under construction in neighbouring Tanzania, potentially creating a new export route for minerals such as gold, copper and iron ore, according to a government document seen by Reuters.
Currently, Uganda sends most of its commodity exports through the Kenyan port of Mombasa and has already announced plans to link its Standard Gauge Railway project to the network being built in Kenya, a project that is still underway.
The government had not previously indicated plans to also connect the railway to Tanzania’s system and the port of Dar es Salaam.
The Ugandan Ministry of Works and Transport document said the proposed railway would run from the border with Tanzania through southern and southwestern Uganda, terminating at Mpondwe on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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“The main objective of the project is to connect the vast and mineral-rich regions of both countries (Uganda and Tanzania) to the port of Dar es Salaam … whilst saving time and transportation costs,” the document said.
The document also noted that the African Development Bank could provide funding for the project and that the Democratic Republic of Congo could later seek to link to the railway.
A spokesman for Uganda’s Ministry of Works and Transport was not immediately available for comment.
The AfDB told Reuters it was reviewing a request to fund “preparation activities” for the rail project. “
The bank may consider financing the project, depending on the outcomes of the studies, if the project is found to be bankable,” said bank official Epifanio Carvalho de Melo.
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