African Rail and Port Project Seeks Funding

The state-owned rail companies of Botswana and Mozambique are seeking private financing for a US$7 billion rail and port project in an effort to slash transit time from landlocked Botswana to the coast of Mozambique by more than two weeks.

The new railway would run from Botswana Railways’ Francistown Container Terminal in eastern Botswana near the Zimbabwe border, across Zimbabwe, terminating at a new deepwater port at Techobanine Point.

The preparatory phase including financing is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2011. The first phase of construction will last from 2012 to 2015.

Construction for the Techobanine Point port has been approved by Mozambique's parliament.

The new port will handle vessels up to 300,000 metric tons and 50 million metric tons of heavy cargo per year, according to Mozambique Ports and Railways Co.

The rail will be used to transport Botswana's export minerals, cutting transit time from six days to 22 days, according to the Southern African Development Community, an organization that has pledged support for the project.