Zambia President Hakainde Hichilema arrived in Tanzania on Tuesday for a 2-day state visit that will see him holding bilateral talks with Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan and later witness the signing of transport, logistics, and tourism agreements between Tanzania and Zambia. While in Tanzania, President Hichilema and the Tanzanian President are expected to discuss issues on trade, investment, transport, and regional tourism.
The Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) is the major infrastructure that is shared between Tanzania and Zambia and is on the discussion table among the 2 presidents. The legendary Chinese built railway line Rovos Rail connects the Southern African region and East Africa and is now famous for intra-Africa rail expeditions after the line launched its annual vintage trips between South Africa and East Africa.
The railway was built between 1970 and 1975 with the help of China to give landlocked Zambia a link to the port of Dar es Salaam as an alternative to export routes via rail. It is a bi-national railway linking the southern Africa regional transport network to eastern Africa’s seaport of Dar es Salaam, offering both freight and passenger transportation services.
Connecting 1,860 kilometers
Zambia Railways connects the 1,860 kilometers between the Atlantic Ocean in Cape Town from Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia with Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean coast in Tanzania. This journey is a historical tourism event in the history of Africa. Traveling by train brings tourists to the most attractive sites in Southern Africa including the fabulous Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and Zambia.
In Tanzania, the train passes through such tourist attractive sites in Southern Highlands as the picturesque Kipengere and Livingstone Ranges, Kitulo National Park, and Selous Game Reserve, among other tourist eye-catching places.
The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region has a population of about 300 million. Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors among the SADC member states and an important foreign exchange earner.
WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS ARTICLE:
- The railway was built between 1970 and 1975 with the help of China to give landlocked Zambia a link to the port of Dar es Salaam as an alternative to export routes via rail.
- The Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) is the major infrastructure that is shared between Tanzania and Zambia and is on the discussion table among the 2 presidents.
- Zambia Railways connects the 1,860 kilometers between the Atlantic Ocean in Cape Town from Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia with Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean coast in Tanzania.
