“The main objective of the project is to connect the vast and mineral-rich regions of Uganda, Tanzania and the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to the Port of Dar es Salaam while reducing transport costs and transit time,” according to project documents prepared by the Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency (CCTTFA). The project gained renewed political momentum after Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan recently hosted Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in Dar es Salaam for talks on trade, logistics and industrial cooperation.

The project gained renewed political momentum after Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan recently hosted Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in Dar es Salaam for talks on trade, logistics and industrial cooperation.

Samia said the leaders discussed improving access for Ugandan traders to Tanzanian ports, particularly Tanga and Dar es Salaam, to ease cargo movement from landlocked Uganda. She added that Uganda had asked Tanzania to extend railway connectivity deeper into Ugandan territory to facilitate smoother and cheaper transport of goods.

Museveni said the two countries were also exploring industrial specialization, with Tanzania potentially focusing on locomotive manufacturing while Uganda expands textile production to strengthen regional value chains.

Uganda’s coordinator of Northern Corridor Integration Projects, Ambassador Richard Kabonero, said railway transport remains central to the region’s competitiveness.

“This railway is more than steel and tracks — it represents critical links to enhance cooperation,” he said.

Preliminary surveys have identified several possible routes. On the Tanzanian side, planners are considering Isaka–Lusahunga–Murongo/Kikagati and Isaka–Nyakasanza–Omurushaka–Kakunyu/Nshongyezi, while in Uganda proposed routes include Kikagati–Mbarara–Bihanga–Kasese–Mpondwe and Kikagati/Nshongyezi–Ntungamo–Bihanga–Kasese–Kamango.

Mpondwe is one of Uganda’s busiest border crossings with the DRC. Linking the corridor to Tanzania’s SGR could shift significant freight flows toward the Port of Dar es Salaam, which handles more than 18 million tonnes of cargo annually for inland markets including Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

ChimpReports understands the railway project has moved through several technical stages since April 2024, when Uganda, Tanzania and the DRC held a tripartite meeting and agreed to conduct a joint route survey. Experts later surveyed the corridor from Isaka to Mpondwe in October 2024, confirming viable alignments.

In April 2025, a Joint Technical Committee meeting in Kampala drafted a memorandum of understanding outlining governance structures and technical standards for the project.

By ChimpReports