Corridors
Central Corridor: Dar es Salaam to the Great Lakes
Short answer
- Managing body
- Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency (CCTTFA) 1
- Agreement signed
- 2 September 2006 1
- Founding states
- Burundi, DRC, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda 1
- Later members
- Malawi and Zambia, amendment of 1 December 2023 1
- Secretariat
- Dar es Salaam, established July 2010 1
- Border posts on main routes
- Rusumo, Kabanga/Kobero and Mutukula one stop border posts 3
- Transit cargo, Dar es Salaam
- 14.61 million tonnes in financial year 2025/26, as reported by Daily News 2
- Status
- Live corridor, agency pages read on 24 October 2026 4
The agreement and the agency
The agreement sets four purposes. Members promote use of the corridor, grant each other transit rights, speed up movement of goods and aim to make it the most efficient corridor in East and Central Africa 1.
The agency works through an Interstate Council of Ministers, an Executive Board, a Stakeholders Consultative Committee and a Permanent Secretariat 1. Its home page lists Burundi, DR Congo, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia as stakeholder countries 4.
Transit road routes
The agency road network page, dated 22 April 2021, lists four transit routes and average road transport rates in US dollars 3. The page does not say whether the rates are per truck or per container 3.
| Route | Border crossing | Average rate in 2021 page |
|---|---|---|
| Dar es Salaam to Kigali 3 | Rusumo one stop border post 3 | US$2,900 3 |
| Dar es Salaam to Bujumbura 3 | Kabanga/Kobero one stop border post 3 | US$3,100 3 |
| Dar es Salaam to Kampala 3 | Mutukula one stop border post 3 | US$3,400 3 |
| Dar es Salaam to Goma 3 | Rusumo, then the Rubavu and Goma border 3 | US$4,300 3 |
| Dar es Salaam to Bukavu 3 | Burundi or Rwanda borders 3 | US$4,900 3 |
Route as listed by the EAC
The EAC lists the main road as Dar es Salaam, Morogoro, Dodoma, Singida, Nzega, Tinde, Isaka and Lusahunga. Branches run to Kigali and Gisenyi via Rusumo, to Bujumbura via Kobero and Gitega, and to Masaka via Bukoba and Mutukula 5. The EAC gives 1,300 km as the transit corridor and about 2,170 km as corridor 2 5.
The Tanzania Revenue Authority lists Rusumo/Rusumo with Rwanda, Kabanga/Kobero with Burundi and Mutukula/Mutukula with Uganda as working one stop border posts. All Tanzanian posts use the juxtaposed model 6.
Transit cargo volumes
Two 2026 press reports give different periods. The Guardian gives figures for 2024 and 2025 through Dar es Salaam and Tanga ports. It does not say if these are calendar or financial years 7. Daily News gives Dar es Salaam figures for the 2025/26 financial year 2.
| Destination | Period as stated | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|
| All transit cargo 7 | 2024, year type not stated 7 | 9,187,061 7 |
| All transit cargo 7 | 2025, year type not stated 7 | 14,250,087 7 |
| All transit cargo 2 | Financial year 2025/26 2 | 14.61 million, up 17% 2 |
| DRC 7 | 2025, year type not stated 7 | 7,239,741, up 73.2% 7 |
| DRC 2 | Financial year 2025/26 2 | 7.77 million, up 30% 2 |
| Rwanda 7 | 2025, year type not stated 7 | 2.2 million 7 |
| Rwanda 2 | Financial year 2025/26 2 | 2.18 million, up 24% 2 |
| Burundi 7 | 2025, year type not stated 7 | 494,698 7 |
| Uganda 7 | 2025, year type not stated 7 | 47,605 7 |
Rail and cargo tracking
The Tanzania Railways Corporation launched container services on the electric Standard Gauge Railway, as reported by The Citizen on 18 February 2026. The first train ran from Pugu to Ihumwa in Dodoma Region, about 420 km from Dar es Salaam, with 50 wagons and 100 containers 8.
The agency home page lists a Dar es Salaam to Isaka to Kigali railway project, where joint technical steering committee meetings were held. It lists an Uvinza to Musongati to Gitega railway, with a feasibility study done for the Uvinza to Musongati section 4.
The Tanzania Revenue Authority runs an Electronic Cargo Tracking System for transit cargo under customs control. A TradeMark Africa project with TRA ran from April 2019 to June 2021 9. In March 2023 the agency reported that the ECTS control room on the 17th floor of TRA House in Dar es Salaam will monitor cargo under customs control 10.
Common questions
Which countries use the Central Corridor?
Burundi, the DRC, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda signed in 2006. Malawi and Zambia joined by an amendment of 1 December 2023 1.
Which border post does Dar es Salaam to Kigali cargo use?
Rusumo one stop border post, according to the agency and TRA 3,6.
How much transit cargo goes through Dar es Salaam?
14.61 million tonnes in the 2025/26 financial year, as reported by Daily News 2. The Guardian reported 14,250,087 tonnes through Tanzanian ports in 2025, without saying if that is a calendar or financial year 7.
Where is the Central Corridor secretariat?
In Dar es Salaam. The Permanent Secretariat was established in July 2010 1.
Rules and charges change. Check the official source linked on this page before you pay or travel. Spotted an error? Email hello@eastafricatradesystems.com.
Sources
- Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency: Overview (10 October 2024)
- Daily News: Dar es Salaam transit cargo rises 17% as corridor competition shifts (2 October 2026)
- Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency: Road Network (22 April 2021)
- Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency: Home (accessed 24 October 2026)
- East African Community: Road Transport in East Africa (accessed 24 October 2026)
- Tanzania Revenue Authority: One Stop Border Post (OSBP) (accessed 24 October 2026)
- The Guardian (IPP Media), Guardian Correspondent: DRC top transit cargo market after 73pc increase in tonnage (7 July 2026)
- The Citizen, Rosemary Mirondo: Tanzania launches container transport services on electric-powered Standard Gauge Railway line (18 February 2026)
- TradeMark Africa, project page: Electronic Cargo Tracking System (ECTS) (accessed 24 October 2026)
- Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency: CCTTFA Executive Secretary holds meeting with Tanzania Commissioner of Customs (6 March 2023)
Related
- Northern Corridor: Mombasa to the Great Lakes
The Northern Corridor links Mombasa port to Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and eastern DRC. Agreement, routes, rail, port and tracking facts.
- Dar es Salaam to Lusaka corridor
Road and rail link between Dar es Salaam and Zambia: the TAZARA railway, the Tunduma and Nakonde border post, the 2025 concession and cargo volumes.
- One-stop border posts in East Africa
The 15 border pairs named in the EAC One Stop Border Posts Act, how a one-stop crossing works, and dated facts on Rusumo, Namanga, Kobero and Nimule.
- Electronic cargo tracking compared across East Africa
Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda share RECTS. Tanzania runs its own ECTS. The DRC lists a transit tracking tool. Dates, costs and reported transit times.
- Burundi customs and trade systems
Burundi's revenue office OBR, its ASYCUDA World customs system, the medicines single window, border posts and the EAC and COMESA rules it applies.
- EAC Single Customs Territory (SCT)
How the EAC Single Customs Territory clears goods with one declaration, when it started on each corridor, and what EAC and TRA sources say about it.