The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) says it has made a profit of 13.50 million US dollars for 2015 and 2016 financial year as it makes steady progress from scores of turnaround measures.

The jointly owned railway line, has attributed the profit to improved business resulting from increased haulage from 87,000 metric tonnes of freight in the 2014/2015 financial year to 130,000 metric tonnes in the 2015/2016 financial year.

According to a communique, issued after the 108th meeting of the Board of Directors held in Lusaka, Zambia, the railway firm has since projected to generate about 44.10 million US dollars in the 2016/2017 financial year due to a turnaround in business and cost-effective operations.

With impressive results, the Board of Directors of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA) said the railway firm has started showing signs of improvement. The communique further noted that there were improvements in both the inter-state and commuter passenger train operations, which were now not only running on time but also operating cost-effectively in some units.

“In this regard, while commended for the improvements so far, the management was urged not to relent but to go further and apply more efforts to eliminate all losses in all units and aim to attain the break-even point in all operations,” the communique added.

The Board has since proposed management’s plans for a projected 381,000 tonnes of freight and 2,280,000 interstate and commuter passengers to be transported in the financial year 2016/2017. The 1,860-kilometre railway line, built with the assistance of the Chinese government in the 1970s, runs from the Zambian town of Kapiri Mposhi to the Port of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania.

Source: Footprint to Africa