Tanzania: Tanga Cement Co looks to cut costs with rail deal

The Tanga Cement Company has signed a deal with Tanzania Railway Ltd to transport 35,000t of cement a month to Mwanza and Kigoma.

The deal would see the state rail company ship 15,000t to Mwanza on Lake Victoria and 20,000t to Kigoma on Lake Tanganyika. Both destinations are remote from cement producing regions and as a consequence currently pay high prices for cement.

Tanzania’s Citizen newspaper reports that cement prices in the two cities are between US$7.76 and US$8.76 per bag. This compare to an average of around $7 a bag for the country as a whole. It is hoped that shipping cement by rail will allow prices to fall.