Isaka is a small town and station on the narrow-gauge Mwanza railway line of

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

which connects to the

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

Transport

It is located in

Kahama Rural District Kahama Rural District is one of the five districts of the Shinyanga Region of Tanzania. Its administrative centre is the town of Kahama. The district consists of two separate parts, divided by Kahama Urban District. The area to the northeast is ...

Shinyanga Region __NOTOC__ Shinyanga Region (''Mkoa wa Shinyanga'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The regional capital is the municipality of Shinyanga. The region is bordered to the north by the Mwanza, Mara, and Kagera Reg ...

. In the 1980s a

dry port A dry port (sometimes referred to as an inland port) is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport, operating as a centre for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations. In addition to their role in ...

was established there to serve the landlocked countries of

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Gr ...

and

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

, since Isaka is on a highway, now paved, running 610 km from the Rwandan capital,

Kigali Kigali () is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwanda's economic, cult ...

. The dry port functions as a sub-port of Dar es Salaam. Road transport companies can collect containers coming from overseas at Isaka and clear customs there, and deliver containers going overseas to the same location. Isaka also handles containers for the north-eastern

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. In 2017, a new station on the standard gauge railway is proposed. Isaka Dry Port

In 2006,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

offered funds to carry out feasibility studies to extend the Tanzanian Railway system to serve Burundi and Rwanda directly. There is an alternate plan to connect these landlocked countries to the Cape Gauge southern African railway network via

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, but the DR Congo network itself is still in poor condition. Burundi and Rwanda are also connected by paved highway to

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and R ...

which has a rail link to the seaport of

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town ...

References

* {{Authority control Populated places in Shinyanga Region Wards of Tanzania