TAZARA TRAIN

By REBECCA MUSHOTA –
THE Malawian government has commissioned the Nacala Railway, a project that could see Zambian bulk cargo transporters reduce the distance to the sea by 500 kilometres.
The project was launched on Tuesday.
The Nacala Railway is part of the Nacala Corridor, a project which saw Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique sign a tripartite railway transport agreement in 2010.
Minister of Transport and Communications Brian Mushimba said the project meant to connect Chipata to Serenje via the Petauke Railway Project and would link the Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) from Serenje to Chipata and connect to Nacala at Mchinji.
“We have embarked on an ambitious Greenfield Railway project to link Zambia by railway to the Nacala Port, which will reduce the distance to the sea port by about 500 kilometres,” Mr Mushimba said.
He said this in a speech read for him by Zambian High Commissioner to Malawi John Phiri.
This is according to a statement issued by the First Secretary for Press at the Zambian Mission in Malawi Crispin Mukwita.
Mr Mushimba said regional integration was an important aspect of development particularly to land-linked countries such as Zambia and Malawi that required linkages to sea ports.
The minister said reducing the distance from various mines to sea ports would further imply a significant reduction in the cost of doing business for the mining sector as statistics showed that 55 per cent of the total landing costs was apportioned to transport logistics.
Zambia’s two railway systems, the Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) and TAZARA transport cargo to and from Zambia mainly through the ports of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania and Durban in South Africa which are 1,976 kilometres and 2,951 kilometres from Ndola on the Copperbelt.
The Nacala Corridor would provide a shorter route to the sea by 500 kilometres.