PRESS RELEASE

Secretary General commends World Bank and African Development Bank for steadfast support to EAC regional infrastructure development

East African Community Secretariat, Arusha, Tanzania, 11 March 2010: The President of the United Republic of Tanzania His Excellency President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete today opened the regional conference on the East African railways system themed Revitalising the Railways for Enhanced Regional Integration and Economic Growth at the Milimani City Conference Centre in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The regional conference, which was organised by the EAC Secretariat in collaboration with the World Bank, the African Development Bank and Tanzania’s Ministry of Infrastructure as part of the process of actualising the East African Railway Master Plan and revitalising the railway system in the region, was attended by Hon. Dr. Shukuru Kawambwa, Tanzania’s Minister for Infrastructure; Hon. Eng. John Nasasira, Uganda’s Minister of Transport and Works; and Permanent Secretaries in of the Ministries of Infrastructure in the Republics of Burundi and Rwanda.

Also in attendance were officials from the Partner States Ministries responsible for Infrastructure Development; officials from the Railway Holding Companies and Concessionaires; the World Bank, African Development Bank and other development partners; transporters and freight forwarders; the EAC Secretary General, Amb. Juma Mwapachu and his Deputy in charge of Planning and Infrastructure, Mr. Alloys Mutabingwa; the Executive Director of CASSOA, Mr. Mtesigwa Maugo; Director of Planning and Infrastructure, Mr. Philip Wambugu; and other senior staff from the EAC Secretariat.
 
Welcoming delegates to the Conference, the Secretary General, Amb. Juma Mwapachu commended the government of the United Republic of Tanzania for its insights and commitment to infrastructure development which were visible by the rapid increase in the Government funded budget for transport infrastructure development which has nearly tripled during the last five years. 

Amb. Mwapachu commended the World Bank and the African Development Bank for their steadfast support to the EAC regional infrastructure development especially in the revitalisation programme of the East African railways systems. He said ADB had enhanced its support to the railways sector through the financing of the investment studies for the Isaka – Kigali; Keza – Gitega – Musongati proposed railway lines.

Updating the Conference participants on progress being made by the COMESA, EAC and SADC Secretariats towards the establishment of a Grand Free Trade Area across the three sub regions, Amb. Mwapachu disclosed that the Tripartite Task Force had carried out the required feasibility studies covering, among others, the rules of origin, the legal framework, the interface with existing trading arrangements, the transition process and the institutional framework.

He said the reports of the foregoing studies were already with all the member and Partner States for validation.

In respect to the North South Corridor project, the Secretary General disclosed that the three sub-regional Secretariats hosted a donors Conference that was held in April 2009 in Lusaka Zambia during which US$ 1.2 billion was pledged for the various components of the project.

He said the Tripartite Task Force had negotiated and signed the necessary legal framework for the Corridor Project with Department for International Development (DFID)- the lead development partner of the Corridor project and the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA). As a result, the DFID had approved the release of UK£ 67 million to DBSA for the implementation of the project components.

The Secretary General furthermore informed delegates that the implementation of the One Stop Border Posts along the North South Corridor had commenced with the recent opening of a One Stop Border Post (OSBP) at Chirundu border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. Other border posts are lined up for similar transformation.

It is expected that the North South Corridor model will be replicated in the EAC for other corridors notably the Central and Northern Corridors. In this context the Secretary General called upon participants to consider supporting an Aid for Trade programme for these two corridors to hasten the railways development component.

The preparation of the East African Railway Master Plan is a directive by the Summit of the EAC Heads of State for the development of a regional strategy to revamp the railways after decades of neglect and poor management which had severely eroded the dominant role of railways as the main conveyor of freight in the region.

The Master Plan was prepared by CPCS Transcom of Canada and contains recommendations on what the region needs to do in order to revamp the railways system in the short, medium and long terms, and includes issues on traffic projections, technical considerations, legal and institutional reforms and environmental mitigation measures.

For further information please contact:

Richard Owora Othieno
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Corporate Communications and Public Affairs
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