Regional transport development -- Dar es Salaam corridor project (TAZARA)

The evaluation covered the period 10/87-11/89. The project has responded to TAZARA"s immediate need for additional locomotive power by providing new locomotives to carry increased tonnages of cargo. At the same time, the project is strengthening the institutional capacity and operational efficiency of TAZARA in repair and maintenance of its own fleet of locomotives by providing spare parts, tools, testing equipment, expanded workshop facilities, and on-the-job training. To increase management efficiency, long-term, and short-term TA and training are being provided to the various organizational divisions. Major conclusions are as follows. The need for all 17 locomotives to be financed by A.I.D. has been clearly established. Even with the 17 new locomotives, TAZARA will still require one additional locomotive by 1993 and another 16 by 1995. TAZARA"s present tariff structure generates sufficient revenue to meet expenditures. Traffic projections should be revised downward significantly; the present level of traffic on TAZARA of 1.075 million MTs is much lower than the 1.64 million MTs projected in the Project Paper. Locomotive procurement under host country contracting procedures was both efficient and effective. Two of the three End of Project Status (EOPS) conditions should be amended. The projected increase in TAZARA"s carrying power should be reduced from 100% to 45%, since the first eight locomotives being financed by the project are not due to arrive until 8/90; and the projected increase in the locomotive availability for the entire TAZARA fleet should be reduced from 40% to 26%, and a 75% availability rate should be established for the diesel electric locomotives not mentioned by name in the Project Paper. Finally, a fourth EOPS condition should be added: a 50% increase in the locomotive utilization rate for the entire TAZARA fleet.