Standard Chartered has coordinated a US$2.33bn syndicated financing deal for a major railway project in Tanzania, which includes backing from several export credit agencies (ECAs).

Once completed, the standard gauge railway will link the port cities of Dar es Salaam and Mwanza, representing one of the largest infrastructure projects in Tanzania’s history.

The financing covers lots three, four and five of a total of five lots. Lots three and four will see the development of around 430km of track from Makutupora to Isaka by Turkish construction firm Yapi Merkezi.

Standard Chartered acted for Tanzania’s ministry of finance as sole global coordinator, bookrunner, mandated lead arranger, facility agent and lender for all three lots.

ECA facilities from Sweden’s EKN and SEK, Poland’s Kuke and Italy’s Sace contributed US$1.32bn, while two other ECAs – Japan’s Nippon Export and Investment Insurance and Swiss Export Risk Insurance – provided reinsurance.

EKN and Kuke’s facilities for lots three and four were signed in 2025, and Sace’s facility for these lots was signed in 2026.

The remaining US$462mn was agreed in 2023 and comes from commercial banks and development finance institutions.

Lot five, which will connect Isaka to Mwanza and covers around 249km, is being delivered by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation and is backed by a US$559mn covered facility from China’s ECA, Sinosure.

The railway will connect Dar es Salaam to the landlocked countries of Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

It aims to “spur the economic development of the interior areas of Tanzania and provide employment opportunities to the local population”, the bank said.

Herman Kasekende, chief executive and head of coverage at Standard Chartered Tanzania, noted: “We are committed to helping finance the delivery of large-scale infrastructure to support sustainable growth in Africa, and we are excited for this railway project to position Tanzania as a premier logistics hub, boosting regional trade and job creation.”

The current financing builds on the US$1.46bn ECA-led financing for lots one and two, the bank said, which was signed in 2020 and also arranged by Standard Chartered.

The fresh support means the whole project now has funding in place, several years after the future of the long-running project was left in doubt and the Tanzanian government urged organisations to step in and fill the financing gap.

Ciro Aquino, head of task force Africa at Sace, said the ECA’s support showed its “strong commitment to strengthen and promote the Italian supply chain, positioning Italian companies as key partners in Africa’s connectivity and economic growth”.

Janusz Władyczak, chief executive of Kuke, added: “This investment demonstrates the critical importance of international cooperation and leveraging the potential of financial institutions from various countries to deliver a meaningful, large-scale positive impact on people’s lives in Africa.”