Tanzania signs port deal with China Merchants Holdings

Tanzania has signed a framework agreement with China Merchants Holdings (International) Co Ltd for the construction of a new port, special economic zone and railway network that could involve more than $10 billion, the government said.
A senior official said talks with the Chinese government were under way on financing of the project. The government has said construction of the port in Bagamoyo some 75 km north of the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam would relieve pressure on the Dar es Salaam port, the second largest in east Africa after Kenya's Mombasa.
Foreign Minister Bernard Membe said the framework agreement between Tanzania and the Chinese port operator was signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to east Africa's second-biggest economy in March. The involvement of the Chinese company and the scope of the deal were not made public then.