Tanzania expects to break ground within three months on the long-stalled Liganga and Mchuchuma iron-ore, coal and steel complex, a development that, at an investment range of US$2 billion to US$3 billion, would be among the largest single industrial commitments in the country's history.

Chief Government Spokesperson Gerson Msigwa told reporters on May 9 that negotiations between the government and the investor have crossed the 90% mark and that implementation should begin "within three months." The project sits in Ludewa District in the Njombe Region and integrates iron-ore mining at Liganga with coal mining and downstream steel production at Mchuchuma. It is being developed by Tanzania China International Mineral Resources Limited, a joint venture in which Sichuan Hongda Group holds 80% and the National Development Corporation holds a 20% non-cash stake.

The integrated plant is designed to produce 2.9 million tonnes of crude steel a year alongside 1.1 million tonnes of finished steel products, supported by a 3-million-tonne coal mine and a captive 600 megawatt power plant. Supporting infrastructure will include a 220kV transmission line linking Mchuchuma and Liganga and a road connecting the two sites. Msigwa said the complex is expected to generate more than 6,500 formal and around 26,000 informal jobs, and to bring in a total of US$1.9 billion in revenue over its first 25 years of operation, with US$910 million from iron-ore mining, US$92 million from coal, and US$987,114 from steel production.

The restart marks a significant inflection point for a project whose history has been defined by stop-start negotiations, financing constraints and disputes over investment terms — frustrations that have made Liganga-Mchuchuma a recurring symbol of Tanzania's stalled industrialisation ambitions. The government has already disbursed more than TZS 15 billion in compensation to affected residents, signalling intent to clear remaining preconditions. Msigwa said the latest progress "demonstrates the Government's commitment to ensuring that the project begins in practice after a long wait."

The complex is now formally identified as a flagship investment under Tanzania's Development Vision 2050, the long-range industrialisation plan that anchors a broader push to move the country up the value chain in minerals, energy and manufacturing. If the timeline holds, the project would also add meaningful steel-making capacity to a region that remains a net importer of finished steel — with implications for construction, automotive assembly and the downstream supply chains that successive Tanzanian budgets have sought to nurture.

What remains to be settled is the remaining sub-10% of negotiations, the financing structure on the investor side, and the precise sequencing of mine, power-plant and steel-mill commissioning. For now, the announcement re-establishes Liganga-Mchuchuma as an active, near-term industrial commitment rather than a deferred ambition.