PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa has wooed a South Korean company, Sung Shin Rolling Stock (SSRT), which has been contracted by the Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC) to manufacture locomotives and train wagons for the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to invest in Tanzania.
The Premier made the call to the President of SSRT, Mr Gye Shul Park, during a visit at the premises of the factory, assuring the South Korean investor of vast opportunities as the government of Tanzania is embarking on improvement of the railway transport.
"You have a big factory with cutting-edge technology in addition to experts in railway transport. We have various projects aimed at improving railway transport by connecting the SGR and thus I invite you to invest in Tanzania," Mr Majaliwa told Mr Park.
During the visit at the factory, Mr Majaliwa expressed satisfaction on the ongoing manufacturing of locomotives and train wagons by SSRT for the envisaged SGR project in Tanzania.
"Out of 81 locomotives and wagons which TRC contracted SSRT to manufacture, 36 of them have been completed and have already been shipped to Tanzania. The remaining 45 are expected to be completed by March, next year," he remarked.
The PM explained further that the wagons are for third class and will be fitted with all required services to operate through the SGR.
Tanzania is currently constructing phase one of SGR stretching 1,219 kilommetres from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza which has been divided in different lots. The section between Dar es Salaam and Morogoro and Morogoro and Makutopora is in final stages.
The other sections between Makutopora to Tabora and Isaka-Mwanza are under construction and in different stages of implementation.
Tanzania and South Korea enjoy cordial bilateral relations and experts from Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) have been conducting capacity building training on operations and maintenance of SGR to TRC employees.
KORAIL's Head of International Railway Training Centre, Mr Baek Hag-Sun, said recently that the training is focused on strengthening the capacity of TRC staff on electric rolling stock and electric systems operations and maintenance.
Mr Hag-Sun made the explanation in Dar es Salaam last week during training of a batch of 35 TRC staff from various fields which was conducted by KORAIL and organized by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
"To this end, we have organized a curriculum with various useful contents that are helpful in the actual workplace of operations and maintenance of rolling stock and electric system," he explained, adding that 17 experts from KORAIL are conducting the training.
The expert noted further that KORAIL is conducting a feasibility study for establishment of Human Resources Development Centre which will be used to train TRC employees on operations of the modern railroad.
Mr Hag-Sun boasted that KORAIL has made remarkable progress in high-speed railway since it started operations in1899.
"Korea railroad has long time experience and cutting-edge technology in operations and maintenance of high-speed railway. KORAIL and TRC have maintained a close cooperative relation in various fields," he stated.
The training has been involving operators of rolling stock, operation controllers, electrical and civil engineers, tracking operators and railway operations trainers from Tabora-based Railway Training College.
The KORAIL's representative said along with the on-going cooperative project with TRC, KORAIL will actively support modernization of the Tanzanian railway through KOICA's training and competency building project.
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During his visit in South Korea, Mr Majaliwa also visited Seamul Udong centre which portrays the development which has been achieved by the East Asian country.
The centre is also undertaking projects of developing villages in Tanzania at Pangawe in Morogoro and Zanzibar.
The Premier thanked the president of the centre for its projects in Tanzania and asked for extension of the projects in order to reach more areas.
"This initiative should be a nationwide project and participation of citizens has been impressive. We want to improve it so that Morogoro and Zanzibar can be an example for other areas," he noted.
The PM also visited the Creative Economy Innovation Center (CEIC) which is located in Pangyo city in South Korea.
