Chinese Government cancels RMB 247 million of the Government of Zambia’s outstanding TAZARA debt obligations (Linked to Project ID#1931)

In 1967, the Chinese Government provided an RMB 494 million interest-free loan to the Government of Zambia and an RMB 494 million interest-free loan to the Government of Tanzania for the construction of the 1860 km Tanzania–Zambia Railway (TAZARA), stretching from Dar‑es‑Salaam to Kapiri Mposhi. The railway, largely aimed at facilitating copper exports from land‑locked Zambia, was completed in 1975. It was the largest Chinese Government-financed construction project in Africa at the time. Then, on January 19, 2011, the Government of Zambia and the Government of Tanzania were both in arrears on their respective loans, and the Chinese Government agreed to cancel 50% of their outstanding debt obligations. More specifically, the Chinese Government agreed to forgive 50% of the Government of Zambia’s outstanding debt obligations (approximately RMB 247 million or $37.5 million) associated with the Tanzania–Zambia Railway (TAZARA) Construction Project.

Additional details

1. This project is not marked as an umbrella because the original loan is not captured in AidData’s dataset, so there is no risk of double counting. 2. The debt forgiveness that was granted to the Government of Tanzania is captured in Project ID#1931.

Number of official sources

8

Number of total sources

14