Botswana is aiming to become a key logistics hub in southern Africa. With its strategic location, the country has plans to enhance transportation and infrastructure facilities to boost trade and connectivity in the region. Government officials are pushing for investments in railways and roads, while ongoing efforts to improve border posts are part of the plan to position the country as a central gateway for goods moving across southern Africa.Duncan Bonnett, a partner at Africa House, highlights that Botswana stands out as one of the region's most stable countries. "The country has good infrastructure, and the projects look promising from what we can see."He said they were tracking 13 projects in the mining sector alone, all of which were feasible. “Two of the projects are expansions at existing mines, while the other 11 are at various stages, indicating a pipeline of projects for the next few years. One of the projects we are tracking has reached the bankable stage, a few are brownfield, and there are some exploration projects.”According to Bonnett, ongoing investment in road and rail is continuing to boost the project sector. “We have also seen investment in border infrastructure, particularly the Kazungula Bridge, which has elevated the country’s attractiveness as a regional land-linked logistics hub.”He said considering the country’s small domestic market, strengthening its position as a strategic trade hub in southern Africa made sense.“Botswana is unlikely to develop a large domestic market and must navigate around this limitation. Outside of Gaborone, long distances to other markets make it more practical for Botswana to link into South African markets rather than rely solely on its own. As a landlocked country, Botswana further depends on the goodwill of its neighbours. The declining infrastructure in South Africa significantly impacts Botswana, making it vulnerable to delays and rising costs.”He said that investing in its own transport infrastructure and linking to other ports in the region made senseAccording to a study by market intelligence and research company BMI, Botswana has seen continued improvement in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index (LPI), underscoring its rising role as a viable and efficient trade route alternative to Zimbabwe’s congested Beitbridge.“The improvements in border infrastructure have not only strengthened Botswana’s appeal as a transit hub but have also broadened the supply chain alternatives for South Africa,” reads the BMI report.The country has within ten years gone from underperforming on the LPI to now surpassing the regional average.Bonnett said this was due to the consistent approach taken to investment in infrastructure.“Being landlocked has always been a challenge for Botswana. For example, the country’s coal reserves are estimated at around two billion tons. Developing alternative trade routes and establishing itself as a logistics hub is crucial. Botswana relies on Mozambique and South Africa to move its coal, even though these countries are also its competitors.”
