Chinese copper firms join $1.2 billion upgrade of critical African railway to boost critical minerals exports
Chinese mining, shipping, and logistics firms are backing a $1.24 billion project to upgrade a railway linking Zambia’s copper belt to Tanzania’s port of Dar es Salaam, strengthening export routes for critical minerals.
Black News 
Chinese mining, shipping, and logistics firms are backing a $1.24 billion project to upgrade a railway linking Zambia’s copper belt to Tanzania’s port of Dar es Salaam, strengthening export routes for critical minerals.
- Chinese firms are investing $1.24 billion to upgrade the Tazara railway linking Zambia's copper belt to Tanzania's Dar es Salaam port.
- Partners include copper producers CMOC and Zijin Mining, and state-owned China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, which will hold an 80% stake.
- The upgrade strengthens export routes for critical minerals and will compete with Western-backed rail corridors in Africa.
- Zambia and Tanzania have granted a 30-year concession to operate the line, aimed at reducing road congestion and boosting mineral exports.
Copper producers CMOC Group Ltd. and Zijin Mining Group Co. are partnering with state-owned China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) to rehabilitate the 1,860-kilometre Tazara railway, originally built in the 1970s with Chinese financing and engineering under Mao Zedong.
The line connects Zambia’s resource-rich region to the Indian Ocean, providing a key export route for copper and other minerals.
Under the agreement, CCECC will hold an 80% stake in the joint venture leading the project, according to Bloomberg. The remaining shares will be split among Jiayou International Logistics, COSCO Shipping Holdings, and units of CMOC and Zijin, each taking smaller stakes. Jiayou said it will invest about $62.2 million.
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The project comes amid intensifying global competition over access to Africa’s critical minerals. The United States has been working to counter China’s dominance in supply chains, including signing a minerals partnership with the Democratic Republic of Congo to secure access for American firms.
Rival Rail Corridor
The Tazara railway is expected to compete with the Lobito Corridor — a US- and EU-backed rail project linking central Africa’s copper belt to Angola’s Atlantic coast.
Zambia and Tanzania have granted CCECC a 30-year concession to operate the line. Once upgraded, the railway is expected to reduce congestion on regional roads, where most mineral exports are currently transported by truck.
The partners plan to run freight services after completing the upgrades and acquiring new equipment, including locomotives and containers. The project still requires final approval from Chinese authorities.
The investment also highlights a shift in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, with greater involvement from private firms operating projects on commercial terms.
