Botswana, Namibia plan new railway to Walvisbaai to circumvent South Africa’s failing infrastructure
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The global logistics industry is placing increased pressure on economies in Southern Africa to remove the blockages created by the absence of functional governance in South Africa.
Botswana has received several unsolicited bids for a new Trans-Kalahari Railway, a 1,500 km rail line to a Namibian port, aiming to bypass the South African Trans-Oranje route, avoiding South Africa’s struggling logistics network.
The Trans-Kalahari Railway, initially planned for coal exports, will now focus on the Kalahari Copperbelt in western Botswana.
Development has been slow since the initial 2010 agreement, but the renewed expressions of interest received have pushed construction plans up to January 2025.
Other regional examples of such projects include the US-backed rail line in Zambia and DR Congo.
Transnet, South Africa’s state rail and ports monopoly, faces challenges, including skills shortages stemming from racial discrimination in hiring, as well as general corruption and mismanagement, causing delays and economic impact.
Waiting periods at South African ports have reached up to seven weeks at their peak this year, lead to interest from UAE, Qatar, Chinese, and Indian investors in repairing trade routes in the region.
The new rail project may offer a quicker route for companies in the SADC region by diverting shipping to Namibian ports, and offers a boon to the Botswanan government as a vital link in the regional logistics chain.
Botswana, a major diamond producer, seeks alternatives for its vital mineral exports, which continue to be dependent on the infamously dangerous and unreliable South African trade system.
The countries surrounding South Africa obtain enormous proportions of their revenue from South African trade, due to the SADC common customs area, and this dependence is increasingly placing strain on them, as the rerouting of shipments to Namibia and Mozambique have created demand beyond their infrastructural capabilities.
The recent Red Sea crisis has seen masses of shipping rerouted through the Cape, though the lack of maintenance and skills development has meant that the ports will be unlikely to handle the renewed influx.
Recently, shipping companies even imposed heavy tariffs on shipping through our ports, due to the incredible cost to reliable delivery of perishables and just-in-time manufacturing chains.
Botswana and Namibia will be collaborating on the rail project, expecting a request for proposals in March.
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