STORY: TAZARA railway official extends gratitude for Chinese assistance
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 16, 2024
DATELINE: Jan. 18, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:01
LOCATION: Dar es Salaam
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): BRUNO CHING'ANDU, Managing director and chief executive officer of Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority
3. file of the memorial of the TAZARA railway
4. file of the construction of the TAZARA railway
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): BRUNO CHING'ANDU, Managing director and chief executive officer of Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority

STORYLINE:

The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) managing director Bruno Ching'andu has extended his gratitude for Chinese assistance and the deceased Chinese experts during the construction of the railway in a recent interview with Xinhua.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): BRUNO CHING'ANDU, Managing director and chief executive officer of Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority
"We are very appreciative of the people who constructed TAZARA, the Chinese who constructed TAZARA, and especially those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, that gave their lives in the construction of this. So every year we participate together with our Chinese counterparts at the memorial, we are always part of that memorial to remember those that gave their lives during the construction of TAZARA."

The Tanzania-Zambia Railway was constructed as a turnkey project between 1970 and 1975 through an interest-free loan from China, with commercial operations starting in July 1976.

The 1,860-km-long railway served as a reminder of the longstanding relationship.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): BRUNO CHING'ANDU, Managing director and chief executive officer of Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority
"Remember that even just after starting the operations, China has always assisted TAZARA. Every two or three years, we get protocols in order to promote and enhance the operations of TAZARA. So far, we have received 15 protocols. So every two years we have been having these and I believe that going forward such assistance will continue especially now with the important role that TAZARA will be playing in the movement of goods from DRC and from Zambia. We are expecting a lot of traffic coming out of these two countries in the next 5 to 7 years."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Dar es Salaam.
(XHTV)