Namibia may seek investors for DRC, Zambia rail link

Windhoek. – Namibia may seek private investors to fund a railway line linking the north of the country with Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as mineral shipments from those nations through the port at Walvis Bay increases.
The railway, which will run from the Zambezi region in northeastern Namibia to the town of Grootfontein, a distance of about 800 kilometres, is part of efforts to “create a logistical hub in Namibia for landlocked Southern African countries,” Peter Mwatile, permanent secretary at the country’s Transport and Works Ministry, said by phone yesterday.

“The idea and wish for the project to proceed is there, but the problem is financing,” Mwatile said. “It will contribute to creation of a logistical hub in Namibia and boost trade flows in the Trans-Caprivi corridor.”

Private investors may be invited to join the project once a detailed feasibility study is done, he said.

The DRC and Zambia, Africa’s two largest copper producers, are making increasing use of Namibia’s deep-water port at Walvis Bay to ship minerals and import equipment.

The growing traffic is spurring the need for Namibia to establish a rail link with Zambia, Johny Smith, chief executive officer of the Walvis Bay Corridor Group, which helps co-ordinate trade, said by phone from Windhoek yesterday. – Bloomberg.