ZAMBIA IN TALKS WITH CHINA ON TAZARA CONCESSION

Government says it is in active discussions with China railways,a parastatal, on the possibility to concession the Tanzania Zambia Railways -TAZARA-.
Minister of Transport and Communications, Brian Mushimba says concession period being considered is 20 years and that the level of investment per year will be agreed on.
Mr. Mushimba has explained that this is one of Government’s plan to revamp TAZARA and the objective is to have an improved and modern railway at the end of the concession period.
The Transport and Communications Minister has told ZNBC News in an interview in Lusaka today that discussions of the concession frameworks include ensuring protection of employment of the locals and also the efficiency that Government requires in a railway Company is achieved.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mushimba says studies have been concluded on the possibility of setting up a mass transit train in Lusaka.
He has explained that Government has been executing a Memorandum of Understanding with a Chinese Company for the last 3 years to study the mass transit train option.
Mr. Mushimba has noted that having a fast train to ferry people from the peripheral to the central business district would be an efficient way of decongesting traffic on the roads in Lusaka.