Rail is fast making a comeback in Africa and is starting to demand attention in the project sector, says African project specialist Paul Runge.
An analyst with Johannesburg headquartered consulting firm, Africa House, Runge says the increasing number of rail projects is encouraging, as these will impact significantly on the movement of bulk cargoes on the continent.
“Rail – both passenger and cargo – is undergoing a resurgence,” he said. “Africa is still very mineral dependent making the railways vital for the continent. We are seeing some very real progress in the rail project sector with some lines already up and running while talks and feasibility studies into several projects have been kicked up a notch.”
In January the Addis Adaba-Djibouti Railway in Ethiopia was inaugurated, while the Nairobi-Mombasa railway line in Kenya opened in May, an estimated 18 months ahead of schedule.
This railway line will eventually link Mombasa in Kenya to Uganda and later to South Sudan in the second and third phases of the project.
Mozambique on the other hand is looking to implement its three east-west railroads with one north-south railway running the entire 3 000km length of the country. Nigeria’s 871-mile-long Lagos-Calabar railway is expected to open in 2018. There are also plans for a railway line in San Pedro in Cote d'ivoire.
Runge said while logistics operators had been working flat out in some instances to deliver on projects there was still a wait for many others such as the Trans Kalahari railway line linking Botswana and Namibia. “It is anyone’s guess when this project will take off. I think what is encouraging is the fact that we are seeing a lot of investment into ports that in turn is encouraging the development of rail projects and that in turn brings road projects.”
He said more and more countries were taking regional approaches in these projects, which were being viewed very favourably by international donors.
