CHINA: TANZANIA, Zambia and China have signed a contract worth 1.4 billion US dollars (approximately 3.44tri/-) aimed at reviving and rehabilitating the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA), which has for decades, served as a vital trade artery between East and Southern Africa. Prof Mbarawa said that the improvements will reduce transport costs and time, stimulate regional trade, attract investment, increase employment and income for citizens and strengthen diplomatic and economic ties between Tanzania, Zambia and China. He extended his gratitude to the three governments for their solidarity and commitment to restoring TAZARA to its former standards. Last year, China signed an initial agreement to revitalise the 50-year-old TAZARA railway, coinciding with the United States’ financial support for a competing transport corridor for minerals known as Lobito, which connects to an Angolan port. Constructed from 1970 to 1975, TAZARA was a turnkey project financed and supported by China.