By Jiang Yuntao, Chairman of CRJE (E.A) LTD and Chinese Enterprise Association (Tanzania)
Dar es Salaam
Putting people's wellbeing at the center of development, CRJE (E.A) LTD says it will continue to focus on quality of life and wellbeing for all as Tanzania pursues DIRA 2050.
Speaking at the Phoenix Global Development Forum for Enterprises–Tanzania on 3 October 2026 at the Johari Rotana Hotel in Dar es Salaam, Chairman Jiang Yuntao said the company's approach goes beyond infrastructure to investing in people.
The Forum was co-organized by Phoenix TV and the Chinese Enterprises Association in Tanzania (CEAT), with CRJE as Chair member involved in preparation from start to finish. It brought together about 100 guests from government, business and academia.
Guests of honor included Hon. Prof. Kitila Mkumbo, Minister of State, President's Office – Planning and Investment; Mr. Shigeki Komatsubara, UNDP Resident Representative in Tanzania; and H.E. Chen Mingjian, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Tanzania, who all gave opening remarks.
Jiang recalled that CRJE's story in Tanzania begins with TAZARA. From 1969, its mother company China Railway Construction Engineering Group (CRCEG) dispatched 1,114 employees to build TAZARA, undertaking 506,400 sqm of works including 93 stations, two repair plants, a technical school, depots, hospitals and accommodation. After TAZARA entered operation, a small maintenance team remained, with the Tanzania Branch formally registered in Dar es Salaam in 2000 – the same year Tanzania launched Vision 2025 – and renamed CRJE (E.A) LTD in 2013.
He said July 2025 opened a new historical starting point when H.E. President Samia Suluhu Hassan launched National Development Vision 2050 aiming for "a prosperous, just, inclusive and self-reliant nation" by 2050, anchored on four directions including talent development and people's wellbeing. This was followed by the September 2025 signing of the TAZARA revitalization project and the November 2025 joint statement by China, Tanzania and Zambia on building the TAZARA Prosperity Belt.
On wellbeing, Jiang said: "We are committed to local employment, with local workers accounting for more than 90 per cent of the workforce on our projects. We actively carry out mentor-apprentice training, using projects as practical sites to combine theory with practice, and have trained countless local talents."
He announced that last month, CRJE launched the Chinese Workmanship for Tanzania Future Talent Development Program to further scale skills transfer.
"We care for our local employees: we extend support at key moments such as marriages and the loss of relatives, and we organize team-building activities during Chinese and Tanzanian traditional festivals to promote mutual understanding and trust," he added.
Beyond people, Jiang said CRJE will consolidate socio-economic foundations through infrastructure covering housing, roads, airports, power, water, irrigation, ports and investment – including five-star hotels Kilimanjaro Dar es Salaam, Gran Melia Arusha and Park Hyatt Zanzibar; Nyerere Bridge linking Kurasini and Kigamboni; Mtwara Port; Iringa Irrigation; Geita power lines; Terminal 1 VIP building delivered in just 75 days; Johari Rotana Hotel; Victoria Nobel and Peninsula Noble Centers; and Arusha Stadium for next year's AFCON.
He also cited green development through the Kinondoni Composting Plant processing 50 tons of waste daily, and digital-driven development through smart construction and participation in May's CHINA HIGH-TECH exhibition with TBM.
"Times change, our business sectors change, and projects change — but CRJE's original aspiration of developing hand in hand with Tanzania has never changed," Jiang concluded.
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