National Railways of Zimbabwe on a regional railway infrastructure drive
The National Railways of Zimbabwe has embarked on a regional offensive to unlock the economic potential of southern and eastern countries through full exploitation of the north-south corridor. Enhancing transportation through improvements of the regions railway infrastructure.
The National Railways of Zimbabwe delegation visited the Democratic Republic of Congo at the invitation of the National Rail Company of Congo SNCC, which is seeking collaboration to increase the movement of people and goods in the SADC region.
SNCC Director-General Mr Fabien Mutomb Kan Kato says that Africa’s growth, development and success hinges on Africans connecting with each other and the North-South Rail Corridor is an excellent example of Africa’s integration and what can be achieved through cooperation. He noted that the railway sector is a key economic enabler and the engagement with the National Railways of Zimbabwe is part of the broader strategy to ensure the smooth movement of goods within the SADC region.
“The transport sector can accelerate and intensify the African trade. In particular, rail transport, as a result of its energy efficiency, and the reduction of the tonne-kilometre transport costs is expected to play an important role in long-distance transport in Africa. However, the current situation of the railway infrastructures is very poor in many African countries. This gap has minimised the potential of the African rail systems to play an active role in economic development. So it is in this context that we invited the National Railways of Zimbabwe to discuss issues of mutual concern in the railway sector of our two countries.
“We believe that the railway industry is important in the development of our economies particularly with the boom in production in the mining sector. Here we have Kamowa whose target is 1 million tonnes in the next five years. So as an industry we really need to be prepared and ensure that we remove all the bottlenecks on the north-south corridor. So our teams are meeting to discuss critical issues which should eventually culminate in the signing of a business agreement” said SNCC Director-General, Fabien Mutomb Kan Kato.
National Railways of Zimbabwe, Board Chairman, Advocate Martin Dinha, said the visit is meant to enhance collaboration between NRZ and SNCC and the development of a concrete business agreement to improve freight movement in the North to South Corridor.
“DRC and Zimbabwe enjoy strong bilateral ties so it is also critical that we strengthen economic ties. So we were invited here to discuss the smooth operations of the North-South Corridor. We want to ensure the smooth movement of freight in this important corridor. We also had an opportunity to discuss with the industrialists and mining associations in this region. So we agree to mutualize the utilisation of resources so that we offer seamless services to our customers. The DRC being a source market for mineral resources, NRZ has an opportunity to benefit immensely and generate the much needed foreign currency to buy locomotives spares, new rolling stock and tractive power to enhance its business. As you know we have been in Turkey to source investment in railway infrastructure, but we also need to solve the regional challenges facing the railway sector, so that as investment comes in there are no bottlenecks on our corridor,” elaborates Advocate Dinha.
A delegation from SNCC is expected in Zimbabwe later in July for a reciprocal exchange visit where a business agreement to strengthen cooperation between the two railway companies is expected to be signed.
The North-South Rail Corridor consists of a rail network that stretches over 3 000 km, from Durban in South Africa through Zimbabwe and Botswana and links to the Democratic Republic of Congo passing through Zambia. It is SADC’s main international rail gateway for transporting inbound and outbound cargo. Most rail operators in the SADC region have been struggling to meet the government’s expectations for efficient, reliable and competitive railway services. This has been due to limited working capital as the main cause for poor reliability of rolling stock and dilapidated rail infrastructure.
