Tanzania will use a $235.45 million loan advanced by the African Developmen Bank (AfDB) to  upgrade some 453 km of road, as well as finance a feasibility study for a regional railway project.

The proposed railway will link the country to Rwanda and Burundi. 

"The construction of Isaka-Kigali line in Rwanda and Keza-Musongati line in Burundi will contribute to the implementation of an efficient and low cost transport system which will promote regional integration, development of areas of high mining, industrial and agricultural potential," said a senior government official quoted by Reuters.

Underinvestment has left  East Africa’s railways inefficient and costly to run,  and the trade bloc needs an estimated $20 billion to upgrade the railway network in its five countries, according to Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete.