Tanzania, Burundi, DR Congo seek loan from AfDB for SGR construction

Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have requested the African Development Bank (AfDB) for a 900 million U.S. dollars concessional loan for the construction of a 939-kilometer standard guage railway (SGR).

A statement by Tanzania’s Ministry of Finance and Planning said on Friday that the request was made by the three countries’ ministers of finance when they held talks with senior officials of the AfDB in Washington, D.C.

The statement said the funds will finance the construction of the 939-kilometers of SGR linking the town of Uvinza in Tanzania to the city of Gitega in Burundi, passing through the town of Musongati, also in Burundi.

According to the statement, Tanzania was represented by its Minister for Finance and Planning, Mwigulu Nchemba, Nicolous Kazadi from DRC and Domitien Ndihokubwayo from Burundi.

Nnenna Nwabufo, the AfDB’s director general for the East African region, said the AfDB was aware of the importance of the project economically, politically and socially.

She added that the SGR project was posed to boost trade in the east African region.

Tanzania, Burundi and DRC are members of the East African Community (EAC) with Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda.