After Tanzania and Zambia became independent respectively in 1961 and 1964,


There was an urgent need to build a new transportation line in order to develop their national economies, support the people of the Southern African region in their just struggle against imperialism, colonialism and for national liberation, as well as to overcome their dependence on the sea route in the south which was under the control of the white racist regime of South Africa and Southern Rhodesia. Tanzania and Zambia first attempted to seek assistance from major powers in the West and the former Soviet Union. They were, however, turned down.


In February 1965, President Nyerere of Tanzania made his first visit to China,. During talks with the Chinese leaders, he expressed the desire of requesting China to assist the construction of the Tanzania-Zambia railway. Proceeding from the strategic perspective of providing support to the African countries in their efforts to win and safeguard national independence and to develop their national economies as well as of actively boosting the friendly cooperation between China and the third world countries, the Chinese leaders agreed to the request to construct such a railway. In June 1967, President Kaunda of Zambia visited China. During his stay in China, he also sounded out the opinion of the Chinese Government on the construction of such a railway. The Chinese side expressed in explicit terms that so long as the Presidents of Tanzania and Zambia were determined to do so, China was ready to invest in the construction of this railway. At the same time, the Chinese side emphasized this was a support to the African people in their struggles against imperialism, colonialism and for national independence and assist the African countries to develop their national economies and to consolidate their national independence. Shortly after President Kaunda visited China, the Governments of Tanzania and Zambia sent government delegations to China to discuss the related matters. In September 1967, the government delegations of China, Tanzania and Zambia held talks in Beijing and formally signed the "Agreement of the Government of the People's Republic of China, the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania and the Government of the Republic of Zambia on the Construction of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway".


The Tanzania-Zambia Railway is one of the biggest complete sets of projects. China has ever undertaken in overseas aid items. This 1860-kilometer long rail-road starts from Dar es Salaam in the East Which is the capital of Tanzania and ends in Kapri Mposhi in Zambia in the West. Chinese experts and engineering technicians did all the work of exploration, survey and designing and they also assisted the Tanzania and Zambia governments to organize the execution of the construction. Some sections of the railroad ran through some high mountains, valleys, torrential rivers, dense and primitive forest. Some sections of the rail-road bed and the foundation of the bridges and tunnels were swampy mud and drifting sand. Besides, many areas along the railway construction site were stretches of desolate and uninhabited land where wild animals roamed about. In other words, the project was collosal and involving complicated techniques and the construction was carried out under the most difficult conditions. Altogether 320 bridges have been built totalling 16,520 meters in length; there are 22 tunnels and the total length is 8898 meters; 93 stations were built with a total floor space of 376 thousand square meters. The surveying and designing of this project started in May 1968, and its construction began in October 1970. The whole project was completed and handed over in July 1976. To build this railway, the Chinese Government provided an interest-free loan of 988 million RMB yuan and shipped about 1 million tons of equipments and materials. The number of technicians and workers dispatched for the construction was about 50 thousand, and at the peak period, the number of Chinese workers and staffs working at construction site were as many as 16 thousand. In the course of building this railway and in the technological cooperation thereafter, 64 people on the Chinese side laid down their precious lives. After its completion, the railway was handed over to the railway administration which was set up by Tanzania and Zambia to jointly run the railroad. Later on, in order to guarantee normal operation of the railway, China continued to provide interest-free loans, rendered technical assistance and cooperation and sent experts and technicians there to participate in the management or to provide consulting service. Up to the end of 1999, the total number of experts dispatched was close to 3 thousand.


After its completion , the Tanzania-Zambia railway has become a major truck line of communication linking the two countries. It smashed the blockade by the then racist regime of South Africa and provided Zambia with a new and reliable route to the sea, thereby ensuring the major source of its income. For more than 20 years, the Tanzania-Zambia railway has helped boost the economic development of the two countries and promote the flow of commodities between the cities and the countryside. Newly emerged towns along the railway line have become political, economic and cultural centers in their respective localities. In addition, the railway has also played a positive role in supporting the struggle for national liberation in Southern Africa. Nyerere spoke highly of it and he said that China's assistance in constructing the Tanzania-Zambia railway is a "great contribution to the African people", "in past history, construction of railways by foreigners in Africa was for the purpose of plundering the wealth of Africa, while the Chinese did it just the opposite, to help us in developing our national economy". President Kaunda praised the project and said that "a friend in need is a friend in deed. When we were in most difficult time, it was China who rendered assistance to us. The people of Tanzania and Zambia and even the whole of Africa praised this railway as "the road to freedom" and a "model for south-south cooperation".