(Bloomberg) -- Tanzania's transport ministry is seeking approval from lawmakers for its 2019-20 budget of 4.96 trillion shillings ($2.15 billion), which includes 2.48 trillion shillings for construction of a standard-gauge railway line.
The railway line will link the East African nation's commercial city of Dar es Salaam with the town of Mwanza along Lake Victoria, through the capital, Dodoma, Transport, Communications and Works Minister Isack Kamwelwe told lawmakers Thursday.
For the fiscal year beginning July 1, Air Tanzania Corp. will be allocated 500 billion shillings to complete payment for a second Boeing 787 dreamliner aircraft, a Bombardier Q400 jet, construction of a hangar and payment of some of the national carrier's debt, Kamwelwe said.
The government also plans to spend about 102.2 billion shillings for construction, upgrading and rehabilitation of slightly more than a dozen airports as part of efforts to modernize the aviation industry, he said.
Tanzania Ports Authority will be allocated 548 billion shillings to continue expansion works at the Dar es Salaam, Tanga and Mtwara ports, while 70 billion shillings will be spent on modernizing ferry services across Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika, Kamwelwe said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ken Karuri in Dar es Salaam at kkaruri@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Malingha at dmalingha@bloomberg.net, Eric Ombok, Pauline Bax
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