Chinese firm wins $5m Tazara wagons deal

The Chinese Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC) has secured a US$5 million contract to build 90 wagons for the regional Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara). Deliveries will start in eight months.
Akashambatwa Mbikusita-Lewanika, managing director of Tazara, said these wagons will be used in transporting containerized cargo and metals such as copper and manganese.
He said Tazara urgently needs more new equipment to turn it around. "These developments will complement Tazara’s efforts to meet customer expectations in the delivery of quality transport services," he added.
East African reports the US$5 million deal is part of a US$40 million loan that the Chinese Government granted Tazara, through the governments of Tanzania and Zambia, under the 14th Protocol in December 2009.