Southern Africa‘s railways are suddenly getting global attention and attracting billions of dollars in investment, with a race to secure copper supplies needed for the energy transition at its centre. From Angola on the continent’s west coast to Tanzanian on the east, governments and investors are readying to revive decades-old rail lines that have fallen into disrepair and build new ones.
Much of the new demand for freight comes from the central African copperbelt that Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo share.
Already, truck logjams clog routes out of Congo, which last year overtook Peru as the world’s second-biggest source of copper used in electric vehicles and data centres that power the artificial intelligence boom. Zambia has ambitious plans to catch up with its northern neighbour. From the US and European Union to China, there’s a growing realisation that rail must play a central and strategic role in allowing exports to flow.
The surge in interest was plain to see at the Southern African Railways Association’s annual conference in Johannesburg this week. Attendance was up by about 50% from last year, with many first-time delegates from around the world, according to the organisers. During the week, a rail route from Congo to an Angolan port that the US is backing with $553 million in development finance loaded its first copper shipment bound for Baltimore. Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to President Joe Biden who has led the US efforts to develop the so-called Lobito corridor, called the event a BFD – short for big deal, with an expletive.
The Zambian government hopes to sign a deal with China next month that will see a $1 billion refurbishment of a line connecting its copper mines with the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam.
In South Africa, which has the continent’s biggest rail network, state-owned logistics operator Transnet SOC last month got a $1 billion loan from the African Development Bank to help boost its rail-recovery plans.
Years of neglect has left many of southern Africa’s rail lines limping along despite growing demand for trade routes for critical materials used to produce EVs. That’s brought a $10 billion backlog for maintenance, said Johny Smith, head of rail at logistics firm Grindrod.
Much of the new demand for freight comes from the central African copperbelt that Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo share.
Already, truck logjams clog routes out of Congo, which last year overtook Peru as the world’s second-biggest source of copper used in electric vehicles and data centres that power the artificial intelligence boom. Zambia has ambitious plans to catch up with its northern neighbour. From the US and European Union to China, there’s a growing realisation that rail must play a central and strategic role in allowing exports to flow.
The surge in interest was plain to see at the Southern African Railways Association’s annual conference in Johannesburg this week. Attendance was up by about 50% from last year, with many first-time delegates from around the world, according to the organisers. During the week, a rail route from Congo to an Angolan port that the US is backing with $553 million in development finance loaded its first copper shipment bound for Baltimore. Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to President Joe Biden who has led the US efforts to develop the so-called Lobito corridor, called the event a BFD – short for big deal, with an expletive.
The Zambian government hopes to sign a deal with China next month that will see a $1 billion refurbishment of a line connecting its copper mines with the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam.
In South Africa, which has the continent’s biggest rail network, state-owned logistics operator Transnet SOC last month got a $1 billion loan from the African Development Bank to help boost its rail-recovery plans.
Years of neglect has left many of southern Africa’s rail lines limping along despite growing demand for trade routes for critical materials used to produce EVs. That’s brought a $10 billion backlog for maintenance, said Johny Smith, head of rail at logistics firm Grindrod.
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