TITLE:
Challenges of the Performance Standards of the International Finance Corporation in Financing the African Integrated High-Speed Railway Network and the Way Forward: The Case of Standard Gauge Railway in Tanzania
AUTHORS:
Emmanuele Elifadhili Mchome, Uwezo Wilbard Nzoya
KEYWORDS:
African Integrated High-Speed Railway Network, International Financial Institutions, Standard Gauge Railway, Performance Standards
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Transportation Technologies,
Vol.13 No.4,
October
30,
2023
ABSTRACT: Financing of
the African Integrated High-Speed Railway Network (AIHSRN) through Standard
Gauge Railway (SGR) Projects is very expensive. As a result, most of the
African countries seek financial supports from the International Financial
Institutions (IFIs). However, conditions provided by the IFIs through the
Performance Standards (PS) of the International Financial Corporation (IFC)
increase cost of the projects and thus, it becomes a burden to most of the
African countries. This study aimed to explore the causes of IFC-PS through the
SGR Projects that escalate costs and how to address them. The Tanzania SGR Lot
1 Project that covered 205 km from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro was selected as a
case study. The methods used for data collection involved literature review,
focus group discussions and interviews. The results and findings show a gap
between the IFC-PS and the National Laws and Regulations that escalates costs
of the projects if funds from the IFIs were to be secured. To bridge the gap,
it is recommended that the African countries should engage into negotiations
with the IFIs to agree to waive IFC-PS conditions that escalate costs provided
they are adequately covered in the national laws and regulations; engagement of
locally established national and regional financial institutions; and the
responsible government institutions in the African countries should sit
together for assessment and review of the IFC-PS against the national laws and
regulations.