HC Deb 09 November 1949 vol 469 cc1207-8
36. Captain Crowder

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what stage has been reached in developing the coalfields in Tanganyika and Nyasaland; what is the distance to the nearest railway; and what is the distance from there by rail to the nearest port.

Mr. Creech Jones

The quality and extent of the coal deposits in parts of Tanganyika and in Nyasaland are still under investigation. The Nyasaland and the Tanganyika fields are between 250 and 300 miles from the nearest railway which runs down to the coast at Beira, a distance of some 500 miles.