SYNDICATED financing worth over $US 2.33bn has been arranged by Standard Chartered to fund construction of the remaining three sections of the 1219km Dar es Salaam - Mwanza Phase 1 of Tanzania’s Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) programme.
Financing for lots 3 and 4, running for 430km from Makutupora to Isaka and under construction by Yapi Merkezi, comprises $US 1.32bn in export credit agency (ECA) financing signed in 2025 and 2026, and $US 462m of long-term financing from commercial banks and development finance institutions, signed in 2023.
Standard Chartered acted as sole lender for Tanzania’s Ministry of Finance. The ECA facilities comprise support from EKN and SEK of Sweden, KUKE of Poland and SACE of Italy.
Lot 5, covering the 249km from Isaka to Mwanza, is being delivered by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC). Construction is being financed with a $US 559m covered facility drawn in 2025 and provided by Chinese ECA Sinosure. Standard Chartered again acted as sole global lender.
Standard Chartered previously arranged $US 1.46bn of ECA-led loan financing for SGR lots 1 and 2, running for 550km from the port Dar es Salaam to Makutupora via Morogoro and Dodoma. Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) began operating regular passenger services between Dar es Salaam and Dodoma in July 2024.
“We are committed to helping finance the delivery of large-scale infrastructure to support sustainable growth in Africa, and we are excited for this railway project to position Tanzania as a premier logistics hub, boosting regional trade and job creation,” says Herman Kasekende, CEO and head of coverage at Standard Chartered Tanzania.
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