The primary copper export route between Zambia, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will be re-opened as the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara) officially resumes rail operations between the countries.
A suspension of operations was announced on 12 January 2015 by unions in response to unpaid salaries which, according to Tazara, will be paid to all employees.
A subsequent ruling by the High Court of Tanzania declared the strike of unionized workers at Tazara as unlawful.
Employees in both Tanzania and Zambia have resumed work and are permanently restrained from conducting illegal strikes in future as a result of the High Court ruling.
In an interview with The Guardian, Tanzania’s Transport Minister Samwel Sitta indicated that the co-state run authority is implementing ongoing changes in an effort to improve their efficiency and overall service delivery.
“This joint venture with private firms especially copper mining companies will help to recapitalize the authority,” he said.
Tazara was constructed between 1970 and 1975 with funding from an interest-free loan of USD 500 million from China and officially launched its operations in 1976 covering a span of 1,869km.
