ABB was selected to supply substation equipment and engineering solutions for a 530-km-long high-speed electric line between Tanzania's Dar es Salaam and Makutupora cities, the Switzerland-based multinational group announced Thursday.
The equipment will help power two separate but adjoining east-west rail lines – the Dar es Salaam-Morogoro railway line (DSM), and the Morogoro-Makutupora railway line (MDM), according to a press release from the company.
"ABB will deliver a complete engineering solution and most of the key products, such as the substation automation control and protection system and ABB AbilityTM OCC (Operational Control Centre)," the statement said.
The substation equipment and engineering solution will be delivered to Turkish EPC Yapi Merkezi Insaat ve Sanayi – which is constructing the project - and the railway will be operated by the Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC), it added.
According to the statement, the project is part of a larger plan to link Tanzania's port cities with interior areas and neighboring countries to stimulate regional trade and passenger travel in the region and help strengthen the economy. The new high-speed electric rail line will replace a slow, narrow-gauge line built more than 100 years ago, which is not suitable for high-speed transport of cargo and passengers, it said.
"ABB is pleased to be part of Tanzania's pioneering effort to build the first modern electric rail infrastructure in East Africa and encourage sustainable mobility in Africa," said Patrick Fragman, head of the Grid Integration business unit, a part of ABB’s Power Grids division. ABB is a pioneering technology leader in power grids, electrification products, industrial automation and robotics and motion, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport and infrastructure globally.
The group operates in more than 100 countries with about 147,000 employees.
(Anadolu Agency)
