Media reports indicate that Tanzania and Burundi have floated a tender for designing and constructing an electrified railway that will initially connect the two countries and pass through the Democratic Republic of Congo, as the countries look to tap the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), and create the continent's second multinational electrified railway.

About 282 Kilometres of an electrified Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line will be built from Uvinza in Tanzania (off the Tabora – Kigoma SGR line), across the international border along Malagarasi river to Musongati and onwards to Gitega, both in Burundi, reports The Citizen.

"The two Governments of Tanzania and Burundi have entered into a bilateral agreement to implement this multinational project as a single project within Tanzania and Burundi territories," according to the tender document.

The project will be implemented for a period of five years.

The tender document for the Tanzania-Burundi line indicates that the governments of Tanzania and Burundi applied for construction funding from the African Development Bank.

In December 2022, it is reported, Tanzania finalised a $2.2 billion deal with China that will see a total SGR network of 2,561 kilometres, linking the port city of Dar es Salaam to landlocked countries like the DR Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda.