New railway study to connect Zambia and Namibia

4 February 2011

Zambia has signed an agreement with the Epinsam consortium to undertake a feasibility study on a project for a railway line to connect the country to Namibia, it was learned by the Xinhua press agency last Wednesday.

The line will run from the west of Zambia and connect to the Namibian rail network at the town of Katima Mulilo. It will provide new access to the sea and stimulate economic development by facilitating the transport of people and goods.

The head of the Epinsam Consortium, Sarjoo Ralph, stated that the feasibility study will take one year.

Elsewhere, last Wednesday Zambia also signed a protocol with China and Tanzania which will wipe out 50 percent of the debts of the rail company Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA).

The Chinese deputy minister for Commerce, Zhong Shan, told the newspaper Le Quotidien du Peuple that China wants to aid Zambia and Tanzania in their capacities for development by allowing railways to free themselves from the burden of their current operating problems.
 

Category: Transport