China’s Premier Begins $1.4B Overhaul of Tazara Railway in Zambia to Secure Critical Minerals

Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived in Zambia for a two-day visit to launch a $1.4 billion refurbishment of the Tazara railway, a Cold War–era line that links Zambian mines to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam. The upgrade is intended to improve transport capacity and strengthen access to copper and other minerals that are vital for electronics, electric-vehicle batteries, renewable energy technologies and defence systems.

Li is scheduled to meet Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, where the two governments will sign formal documents to begin work on the Tazara upgrade. In September, Zambia, Tanzania and China agreed to give state-owned China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation the concession to carry out the project.

Historic route, renewed strategic importance

The Tazara line was built in the 1970s by Zambia, Tanzania and China to bypass transport links that then passed through Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa. While decades of underinvestment left parts of the railway in poor condition, the current refurbishment aims to restore freight capacity and reduce bottlenecks between mines and ports.

The project has taken on renewed geopolitical significance amid competing infrastructure efforts in the region. A U.S.-backed rail initiative to connect Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo to Angola’s Atlantic coast advanced last year, underscoring growing competition between global powers for secure supply chains to critical minerals.

Strategic and economic implications

China remains a dominant investor in mining across Zambia and the DRC, and improving transport links is central to securing steady mineral flows. For Zambia, improved rail capacity could lower export costs and increase revenues from its large copper sector; for China, it helps ensure supply for technologies that rely on those minerals.

Li’s visit comes as he travels on to Johannesburg for the Group of 20 summit, the first G20 hosted in Africa. The event has been marked by diplomatic tensions, including reports of reduced engagement by some delegations.

Observers say the two rail corridors — one east toward Tanzania and the other west toward Angola — symbolize broader competition to shape supply routes for minerals critical to the global energy transition and national security priorities.