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Dar-Moro SGR project reaches 90% of implementation

March 24, 2023March 24, 2023By Mkufi Dindai
Dar-Moro SGR project reaches 90% of implementation

The Director-General of the Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC), Masanja Kadogosa, has said that the construction project of the Morogoro-Dar es Salaam section of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) has reached 97.93 percent and that the remaining work is to build overpasses for cars and pedestrians.

The overpasses being built are somehow delaying full completion as the high-speed train’s speed of 160 km/h does not allow any human, animal, or another obstacle to pass over it.

Kadogosa mentioned the overpasses under construction as Nyerere, Viguguti, and Banana intersections, all located in Dar es Salaam.

They are expected to be finalized by the end of April next month.

“Another section is the installation of an elephant blocking fence at Ngerengere area in Morogoro region to control the interaction between elephants and the SGR Infrastructures,” Kadogosa said this week in Morogoro before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Accounts (PAC), which visited the SGR Project.

The government aims to prevent accidents that may be caused by elephants colliding with the train.

Elephants are renowned for their memory, which spans over 50 years, so the government is taking this step to safeguard them and the environment.

Kadogosa added that the TRC has completed building all the stations by 100% and that the remaining work is to complete the railway line’s entrance to the Dar es Salaam port, which will be completed next month.

The TRC expects to receive about 45 procured train engines by May, where Mr. Kadogosa said that the government would purchase 17 new train engines from different manufacturers. The engines will begin arriving in September this year.

Other procured items to be used by the SGR are 1,430 freight wagons which are also expected to arrive within this year.

Japhet Hasunga, the PAC Vice chairperson on his side, commended the government for investing heavily in the project.

He added that the SGR’s completion would boost Tanzania’s economy, create job opportunities, and improve the country’s transportation sector.