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.