Minister hails F/town-Kazungula rail link
ARTHUR SIMUCHOBA
Correspondent
| Friday May 3, 2013 00:00
Zambian Transport Ministry officials see it as the cue for Zambia to also build a line on its side of the border to connect Livingstone to Kazungula - a 67km stretch - and link up with the Botswana rail system.
There is not only a sense of urgency about it in Lusaka but one of lagging behind as well. 'Right now, Botswana has started construction towards Kazungula,' said the Minister Christopher Yaluma on his return from Beijing where he had accompanied President Michael Sata on his seven-day official visit to China. Yaluma had discussions with two leading Chinese railway construction companies and among issues discussed was that link and for landlocked Zambia it would be supremely significant.
'It will create a super-link to the South African port of Durban,' said Yaluma. Equally, it would open up a rail link to the Namibian port of Walvis Bay, which would help further develop what is known as the Walvis Bay Corridor. The linking-up of the Zambian and Botswana systems would have significance beyond the two countries and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It would in fact be one more cog in a network of trade routes linking the SADC region as a whole in line with the North-South Corridor concept. It would link Botswana to the Zambian Railway (ZR) system that runs north from Livingstone to the DRC border, leading up to the Angolan port of Lobito via the Benguela Railway, which has been under phased rehabilitation since the end of the Angolan civil war. Yaluma said the Chinese companies had expressed willingness to assist construct such a link and rehabilitate the railway infrastructure, generally. 'We had discussions with companies in railway construction and they are willing to assist. We managed to visit two railway construction companies, China Railway Construction Company and China Railway Engineering Company,' he said.
Both companies have African experience, having been involved in the construction of the 1,860km Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA). The minister said Zambia would continue to seek potential partners for construction of such infrastructure as railways, roads and airports.'We want to revamp our railway systemâ besides rehabilitation the government intends to extend the railway network to link up with all neighbouring countries,' he said. This growing interest in the train is driven largely by the rising copper production in the region, which is projected to rise even further in the next few years.
Zambia is having to re-look her railway connectivity because it is the mode most suited and perhaps the most cost-effective means of transporting copper, which is both bulky and heavy. The main line from Livingstone in the south to the DRC border in the north has however decayed primarily due to lack of investment, thus putting more strain on the roads leading to congestion and over use. The road is handling most of the imports and exports to and from not only Zambian mines but those of the DRC as well. The single-lane highway north of the capital Lusaka can be particularly congested with traffic from the south to the mines in the two countries and vice-versa. The road is overburdened and it wasn't always like that until the railway progressively went off radar and has stayed off.
Focus is now on turning things around and there is an ambitious plan to extend the network in ways that make economic sense. Following Zambia's successful debut Eurobond issue that raised US$750 million last year, US$120 million has been earmarked for the railway sector and the plan to put the rail line on an even keel is now moving into the implementation stage.
Zambia has also been active in re-tooling the TAZARA to ensure that trains continue to ply the rails up to the port of Dar es Salaam. It is this renewed focus on the railway that is the driving force for the proposed Livingstone-Kazungula link. It makes immense economic sense, is in line with the North-South Corridor concept and would undoubtedly consolidate integration in the SADC region. Botswana and Zambia are currently linked by a sickly pontoon service, which leads to delays in the flow of cargo and passenger traffic between the two countries. (Sila Press Agency)