By Patience Lunda:
The Ministry of Transport has announced plans to construct a railway line from Chilumba in Karonga District to Mbeya in Tanzania, which will be part of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara) railway line.
The Tazara railway line links the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania with the town of Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia.
In an interview, Minister of Transport Jacob Hara said the railway line will branch off at Mbeya, where Malawi has its cargo centre facilities.
The government aims to connect the railway line to Chilumba Port to ease the transportation of cargo to Malawi.
Hara added that the construction of the railway line will help the government save up to $50 million annually and will assist in reducing the prices of goods.
He also mentioned that the country is struggling to bring in enough fuel due to inadequate tankers to transport the commodity from Tanzania.
Furthermore, he explained that political unrest in Mozambique has exacerbated the problem and hence the railway line would alleviate such challenges.
“We will transport the cargo by lake when it arrives in Malawi through Chilumba Port, as our lake spans the entire country. This becomes a very beneficial route because it will reduce transportation costs, particularly road transport, which is currently a significant challenge,” Hara said.
The ministry estimates that the project will commence early next year, with a feasibility study already in progress, followed by resource mobilisation.
Currently, Malawi uses the Tanzania route to transport 30 to 40 percent of its cargo.
However, due to political unrest in Mozambique, the country now transports 70 percent of its cargo through Tanzania, as the Beira port in Mozambique is only partially functional.
Economist Edward Chilima said that the decision is positive for the economy, as railway transport is cheaper than road transport, which is predominantly used at present.
Chilima, however, pointed out that the project requires substantial investment to be completed swiftly.
He was quick to highlight the need to consider the already established modes of transportation, as they will be impacted.
“It is important for the country, given that we are landlocked, to have a cheaper mode of transportation for goods, as opposed to the trucks we are currently using, which are expensive. But the key question is when this will happen,” he said.
The Tazara railway line is 1,860 kilometres long and is operated by the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority. It began operating in 1975.
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