adminGABORONE. — Botswana and Namibia are working to kick-start the long awaited Trans Kalahari railway project to connect the coal-rich but landlocked Botswana to a port in Namibia. A statement from the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources said yesterday that Minister Onkokame Kitso Mokaila left Botswana for Walvis Bay, Namibia to attend the signing of the bilateral agreement on the Trans-Kalahari Railway Line Project.
The ministry said Botswana and Namibia are working on the development of a heavy haul railway line starting at Botswana’s Mmamabula coal fields and terminating at the port of Walvis Bay, Namibia.
The 1,500-km railway line will serve as an enabler for Botswana to unlock the value of its estimated 212 billion tonnes coal resource. It is also expected to boost trade in Botswana and turn the country into a regional trade hub.
The agreement was supposed to be signed in April 2013, but was postponed after Namibia requested for more time to finalise the technical issues involved. The bilateral agreement will pave the way for the appointment of transaction consultants to lead the mega project.
The railway line will run parallel to the trans-Kalahari highway and form part of the trans-Kalahari corridor that was opened in 1998 with an initial investment of US$127 million.
The trans-Kalahari corridor is a 1,900km tarred highway that runs from Walvis Bay in Namibia through Botswana into Johannesburg, South Africa. The railway will be constructed at an estimated cost of US$9 billion and is expected to offer Botswana a much needed alternative route for import and export of commodities. Currently Botswana almost rely totally on South Africa for imports and exports.
The project will be funded by the World Bank and the governments of the two countries. Local private companies are also waiting in line to bid for massive tenders in the project, especially as the project will be used to boost public private partnerships.
Both governments have reiterated their commitment to ensuring that the private sector takes the lead in designing, building and operating the railway line. The construction will involve earthworks, drainage, rails, track works, bridges and tunnels, and is expected to go on until 2019. — Xinhua.
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