The revitalization of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA) gained fresh momentum on Friday with the groundbreaking of a training center and an operations control center in Dar es Salaam.
The ceremony, held as part of activities commemorating the 50th anniversary of TAZARA's operation, brought together senior government officials, diplomats and project stakeholders from Tanzania, China and Zambia.
The new complex, which will house the two centers, will combine personnel training, dispatch and command, and logistical support under one roof. It will feature educational facilities, including classrooms for theoretical instruction and specialized practical-training rooms, and five specialized dispatch workstations, as well as communications and comprehensive monitoring systems.
Once operational, the center is expected to train large numbers of railway technical professionals for both Tanzania and Zambia and generate substantial employment opportunities.
The groundbreaking marks a key milestone in the broader TAZARA revitalization project, a trilateral railway upgrading and modernization initiative jointly undertaken by the governments of China, Tanzania and Zambia. The project includes comprehensive improvements such as track replacement, bridge rehabilitation, and upgrades to power and communications systems.
Upon completion, it will increase the railway's annual freight capacity from 200,000 tonnes to 2.4 million tonnes, cut transportation time by two-thirds, and accelerate regional integration.
TAZARA revitalization gains momentum with groundbreaking of training, operations control centers
The Iranian armed forces announced on Saturday that they hit U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan in waves of retaliatory missile and drone attacks launched earlier the day.
The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement that its ground forces targeted the gathering place of U.S. forces at a backup center at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, killing a number of them.
Iranian forces also launched a drone attack that destroyed a radar system, a weapons depot and a hangar of drones at the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, the IRGC added.
In a post on X, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday that two U.S. service members were killed and another remains missing after Iran's strikes on a base in Jordan on Friday.
The deaths bring the total number of U.S. military personnel killed to 16 since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb 28.
CENTCOM said on Friday that U.S. forces struck multiple military infrastructure targets and underground weapons storage facilities in Iran and were implementing a comprehensive naval blockade against Iran.
Iran said on Saturday that its armed forces destroyed a U.S. unmanned boat storage base in Bahrain and struck U.S. targets in Kuwait, Jordan and Syria.
The IRGC warned that if the United States continues to attack Iran's transportation infrastructure, Iran would launch larger-scale retaliation against U.S.-linked economic and technological assets.
As tensions between the two countries escalated, international crude oil futures closed up more than four percent on Friday, with New York crude oil futures returning above 80 U.S. dollars per barrel for the first time in a month.
Iran's armed forces claim hits on US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan in in retaliation
