Private sector puts its money in rail

A new 590-km rail link from Chingola in the Zambian Copperbelt to the Angolan border is to be developed by Grindrod Mauritius in partnership with the NorthWest Rail Company (NWR). NWR, a Zambian company, has held the rights to the rail link since July 2006. According to Grindrod, the railway is to be built in two phases – Phase I extending from Chingola to the Kansanshi, Lumwana and Kalumbila mines (290 km of track), and Phase II to connect with the Benguela line on the Zambian- Angola border near Jimbe. Phase I is intended to service existing ore and finished copper traffic, and Phase II is intended to open up a direct corridor to Lobito which would allow landlocked Zambia to import oil directly from Angola, and to stimulate further mining activity in the Western Copperbelt region. The estimated capital cost of Phase 1 is US$ 489 million while Phase 2 of the NWR project is estimated to cost US$500 million. Existing copper mines are located in the Eastern Copperbelt and are serviced by smelters located near to Chingola (Zambia) and Lubumbashi (DRC). New mine developments have started, and more are planned, in the Central and Western Copperbelt area of Zambia which need to transport ore up to 300kms for processing.