State to boost railway facilities through PPP

THE construction of new railway lines will be done through Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiatives and collaboration with neighbouring countries, Transport and Communication minister Brian Mushimba has said.

The minister said Government appreciated the critical role Walvis Bay Corridor Group and its development corridors play in the importation and exportation of goods and services for Zambia as a trade facilitator and enhancer of deeper regional integration. Walvis Bay Corridor Group is a PPP arrangement that was established in 2000 to promote the utilisation of the Port of Walvis Bay through corridors and whose core mandate is marketing, promotion of trade facilitation and infrastructure development. Mr Mushimba said to realise infrastructure development projects through the Link-Zambia 8000, Government has developed the National Transport Master Plan to integrate and optimize all modes of transport throughout the country. He was speaking during the Beyond Borders Information session for Zambia and Namibia in Lusaka. “My Government is keen on promoting private sectorled growth and intends to transform Zambia through a well-integrated transport system into a regional transport hub by investing in multi modes of transport infrastructure that includes roads, aviation, inland water ways, and railway system network,” he said. And Namibian deputy minister for Works and Transport James Sankwasa said Zambia is strategically positioned to serve as a trade route in the Southern Africa region. Mr Sankwasa noted that this is realistic given the projected economic growth in most of the SADC economies in the medium to long term. “Great emphasis has been placed on the enhancement of infrastructure to link Namibia with the region politically, socially and economically. “The vision of developing Namibia into a regional transport turntable for the Southern Africa Development Community has led to significant investment in upgrading our transport infrastructure to meet international standards,” he said. She explained that infrastructure is a vital incentive for continued trade facilitation through the National Single Window Project to streamline import and export procedures which will reduce transaction costs.