The President of the Republic of Zambia Hon. Hakainde Hichilema has visited Tanzania and had the opportunity to visit the construction project of the modern railway – SGR first phase, that is Dar es Salaam – Morogoro at the modern railway station in Dar es Salaam..
The President of Zambia has made a visit to Tanzania which is his first time since coming to power with the purpose of strengthening the relationship between the two countries. He was at the construction site for the modern railway – SGR which will connect the two countries through trade and transport
President Hichilema accompanied by his team who are the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hon. Liberata Mulamula; Dr. Ally Possi, Deputy Secretary General – Transport. Others at the event include the Chairman of the Board of Directors ,Tanzania Railways – TRC, Prof. John Kondoro, General Director TRC Ndugu Masanja Kungu Kadogosa. The Zambian team received information about the progress of the construction of the modern railway and witnessed the building of the SGR Dar es Salaam station and investment opportunities within the station.
Speaking on behalf of President Hichilema during the visit, the Minister of Transport in Zambia Hon. Franka Tayali said that the Government of Tanzania has done a good thing to build a modern railway where through this construction the country of Zambia will have the opportunity to cooperate commercially with the country of Tanzania in closeness and speed compared to before.
“The visit of the President of Zambia to the construction of a modern railway is going to bring great changes in the railway transport sector in Zambia because every good thing done in Tanzania is a good thing for Zambia.
“Mr. President, it is obvious that every good thing that happened in Tanzania is also a good thing for Zambia, the construction of the Modern Railway is something that has been debated in our parliament that we need a revolution in the railway transport sector. Therefore, in this visit, I have made a purposeful effort so that the president can come here and see for himself the good work done in this construction”, said Reverend Frank Tayali.
In addition, Mr. Tayali added that the construction of SGR in Tanzania has brought about a revolution and rethinking within the railway transport sector in Zambia as the strategies to build a modern railway in Zambia have already started with some preliminary negotiations with the contractor which is building the railway in Tanzania YAPI MERKEZI. It has started to achieve that revolutionary ambition.
“This construction of the SGR has inspired us a lot in Zambia, when we return home we will continue to work with Tanzania very closely and we will take concrete steps so that what has been done in Tanzania can be done in Zambia, I am sure that the construction of the SGR will unite us and fulfill the wishes of Zambians”, said Mr. Minister Tayali.
And the Chairman of the Board of Directors TRC Prof. John Kondoro has explained that the goal of building a modern railway is to also help neighboring African countries to be able to transport goods, however Prof.
Kondoro stressed the importance of visiting each other and developing close relations in the interests of the development of African countries.
We cannot do business effectively with strong investments if there are no close relations with the countries around us including Zambia, Congo (DRC), Burundi and other African countries, so the visit of the Hon. President Hichilema will maintain our relationship especially commercially” said Prof. Condoro.
In another step, Director General of TRC Ndugu Masanja Kadogosa has said that Tanzania cooperates closely with Zambia in the business sector with neighboring countries, Kadogosa added that Zambia uses the port of Dar es Salaam and there is great cooperation in the TAZARA railway.
The Director General added that there is a big reason for TRC to bring back the connection between Zambia and the TAZARA railway through the central railway TRC at Kidatu station, Mikumi to facilitate the transportation of goods from the port of Dar es Salaam to Zambia.
