The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) revival project has reached a significant milestone after the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), officially launched the construction of a new TAZARA Training Centre and a Modern Operations Control Centre.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place today in Dar es Salaam and was attended by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, Professor Godius Kahyarara; CCECC Chairman Mr Li Chongyang; the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Tanzania, Her Excellency Chen Mingjian; and TAZARA's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Engineer Bruno Ching’andu.
The new Training Centre will be built on a 21,800-square-metre site, with its buildings covering a floor area of 9,641 square metres. The facility will feature training laboratories, theory classrooms, office workspaces, and conference rooms of various sizes.
The centre is expected to serve as a vital pillar in strengthening the professional skills of railway staff and ensuring a sustainable supply of qualified experts who will oversee the revival phases, day-to-day operations, and long-term development of TAZARA.
Alongside this, the Modern Operations Control Centre will serve as the central hub for coordinating and managing all railway activities. It will be equipped with modern train dispatch communication systems, large information display screens, integrated monitoring systems, information management platforms, and other essential technological equipment.
Once completed, the centre will enable the joint coordination of train movements, transport capacity planning, and the implementation of operational plans across the entire TAZARA railway network.
The construction of these two centres is seen as a crucial step in the implementation of the TAZARA revival plan, aimed at transforming the railway into a modern, efficient, safe, and sustainable system in order to increase its contribution to the economies of Tanzania, Zambia, and the East and Southern African region.