Malawi rail link overhauled, writes Martin Rushmere
AMBITIOUS PLANS have been drawn up to bring a new lease of life to Mozambique's Nacala Corridor, the transport lifeline for Malawi. If successful they could lead to the port and 850km railway line becoming a serious rival to Beira.
The immediate aim is to create an overall commercial authority to manage both the Malawi and Mozambique sectors.
The first step was taken with the privatisation of Malawi railways in December, under the Central and East African Rail Company (CEARC), headed by American Bob Mortenson. Shareholders are Tertir of France, Manica (through Rennies) and Malawi companies.
Next in line is the privatisation of Nacala port from April 1, over which agreement in principle has been reached for a consortium, including CEARC, to be the operators. There has also been substantial progress in repeating the exercise with the railway line to the Malawi border.
All but 77 km of the line has been overhauled and is in first class condition, says David Sly of Unifeeder, and the money for repairing the last section has been found. There is enormous potential, as shown by the fact that in just one year the number of containers moved on the line rose from nil to 2600. We are expecting a substantial increase in that number this year.
An investment promotion mission for the corridor was in Europe at the weekend, visiting Germany, France and other countries.
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