Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania have always maintained fruitful ties, especially as far as transport is concerned. The landlocked Rwanda and Burundi use the Central Transport Corridor to access the sea through the Dar es Salaam Port in Tanzania. The Central Transport Corridor running from Rwanda provides the possibility of accessing the Dar es Salaam Port via a road-rail or a lake-rail multi-modal combination. The Central Transport Corridor is approximately 1 400 km long from Rwanda and 1 500 km from Burundi. Rwanda and Burundi also uses the North Transport Corridor which is about 1 800 km long from Rwanda and about 2 100 km from Burundi. This Corridor provides access to the Mombasa Port in Kenya via Uganda.
In 2008 the three countries developed transport sector policies aimed at improving the efficiency of the transport system and diversify the modes of transport.
The authorities of all three countries reaffirmed the need to build the new Isaka-Kigali/Keza-Musongati railway line, which is an extension of the current Dar es Salaam-Isaka line. The rehabilitation of the current Dar es Salaam-Isaka railway line and building a new line between Isaka in Tanzania, Kigali in Rwanda and Musongati in Burundi is among the priorities of these transport sector policies in these countries.
This railway is expected to facilitate easy transportation of goods from the Port to Rwanda hinterland. It is also expected to increase efficiency in terms of time and resources since the easy transportation of goods will ensure that the agricultural products from Rwanda get to the market on time.
This is one of the most costly mega projects in East Africa involving the input of three countries; Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. From Rwanda the 691 km railway line is to be built from Rwanda hinterland to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania at a cost of $ 4 billion. It is also expected to extend into Burundi.
The funding of the project will be realized through Public-Private Partnership, the three governments and funds from donors. There has been good interest in the project shown by the Burlington, Northern Santa Fe (MNSF) Railway from America.
