The Zambian government is looking for investors to provide funding to develop three greenfield railway lines that will attempt to improve the countrys transportation services
According to the minister of communication, transport, works and supply Christopher Yaluma, the government would like to develop a 500km link from Mpika-Chipata via Malawi, a 180km link between Kasama and Lake Tanganyika to cater for the Great Lakes region, and the north-west railway line in the north-western province to serve mining companies.
The 180km stretch to Lake Tanganyika will cater for the Great Lakes region to boost trade, while the north-west railway line is expected to provide a better way to transport copper to refineries, Yalum said.
"We have three greenfield railway projects we want to develop immediately, in Mpika across the escarpment there is Chipata via Malawi, and we are trying to put up a link of 500 plus kilometres to link Chipata,’’ Yaluma said.
Yaluma was speaking at a breakfast meeting with 13 American investors who were in the country to explore investment opportunities at Radisson Blu Hotel in Lusaka recently.
Feasibility studies for the 500km link have already been carried out with some funding already injected into the rail project, he added.
Nawa Mutumweno
