Bolloré Zambia is set to build a new railway siding and warehouse in Chingola for a service that will link the Copperbelt to Durban via rail using the company’s own fleet of wagons. The US$15-18-million investment is in response to the need to reduce the carbon footprint of the regional logistics industry and to save wear and tear on the road infrastructure in line with the Zambian government’s objective to move at least 30% of bulk cargo onto rail, says Olivier Terra, managing director of Bolloré Transport and Logistics Zambia. “We are investing in rail because it is the right thing to do for our clients and for the environment,” Terra told FTW. For customers it reduces the risk of being fined in terms of the “Statutory Instrument” (SI) No 7 of 2018 which makes it mandatory for all transporters of heavy and bulk cargo to transport a minimum of 30% by rail. At the time of signing the regulation the government estimated that just 5% to 8% of bulk freight travelled by rail. Terra says Bolloré supports the move to rail because “when you take 100 000 tons of cargo off the roads it equates to the roads authority saving US$50 million a year in road maintenance. “On the environmental side it equates to 500 hectares of forest that would need to be planted every year to sequester the carbon emissions.” Recognising that Zambian Railways (ZR) would take time to build up the stock of wagons and locomotives needed to take the increase in traffic, Bolloré will be investing in its own fleet of wagons. “If you want to be able to deliver a reliable service you have to secure your own wagons,” says Terra. The company is in the process of signing a memorandum of understanding with ZR to allow the wagons onto the network. Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) will be contracted to pull the wagons between Chingola in the north-west of the Zambian Copperbelt and Durban. They will bring mining supplies and chemicals in and take copper out of the region. Chingola is connected via a branch line to the main Zambian network in Kitwe, and to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) network at the Kasumbalesa border post. The environmental impact assessment for the new siding and supporting warehouse infrastructure and multimodal handling facilities in Chingola has been completed and the project has been given the go-ahead by the authorities, according to Terra. Final sign-off from the Bolloré board in Paris is expected soon. “We are banking on growth in the Zambian and DRC mining and agricultural sectors,” Terra told FTW. Construction is expected to start before the summer rains in the fourth quarter of 2019.
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If you want to be able to deliver a reliable service you have to secure your own wagons. – Olivier Terra