After years of discussion, the plan for a rail connection between Botswana and Zambia is now entering a critical phase. This segment's development is part of a broader geoeconomic competition among regional corridors.

The Mosetse-Kazungula-Livingstone railway project, which aims to link Zambia with Botswana, is entering a significant phase with the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Turkish company Eksen Group. This agreement provides a framework for collaboration to facilitate the project's planning, preparation, and implementation. This railway could accelerate Southern Africa's regional integration.

Planned over 430 kilometers, the future railway line aims to position both countries as reliable alternatives to trade routes currently dominated by South Africa.

A Strategic Repositioning

The Kazungula Bridge, inaugurated in 2021 and spanning 923 meters, crosses the Zambezi River at the border between Botswana and Zambia. It already serves as a key transit point for road transport in the region. However, its logistics potential remains underused due to a lack of a connected rail network on both sides.

The new corridor, which the two states will co-finance, is expected to complement existing and planned routes in the region. These include the South Africa–Mozambique corridor with extensions into Zimbabwe, or the Beira corridor linking Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to Mozambique’s ports. There is also the Trans-Kalahari network that aims to connect Namibia with Botswana.

Ultimately, these various rail segments will interlink with lines under development in East Africa. Examples include the Lobito corridor, Tanzania’s Standard Gauge Railway projects with its neighbors Burundi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia, and those underway between Uganda and Kenya.

Toward a Diversification of Logistics Corridors

Currently, a large share of imports and exports for landlocked Southern African Development Community countries such as Zambia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe still passes through South African ports, especially Durban. However, congestion, rising logistics costs, and recent disruptions linked to internal crises like strikes are prompting these countries to seek more stable alternatives.

Kazungula could thus become a strategic link in redirecting flows eastward to Beira in Mozambique and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, or westward to Walvis Bay in Namibia. It would offer a connected, multimodal, and cross border route. For Botswana’s authorities, the railway is expected to reduce freight transport costs, attract investment, and boost special economic zones.

Zambia aims to secure its mining export routes for copper and cobalt, and reduce its vulnerability to road transport risks. The Kazungula connection will strengthen options toward Asian markets via the Indian Ocean while facilitating intra-regional trade.

Several challenges remain, notably the project’s estimated $1.5 billion cost and its economic viability. According to experts, the project requires a freight volume of 7.5 million tonnes per year to break even, while current road traffic over the bridge stands at 3.1 million tonnes.

Added to this are regulatory harmonization constraints and the need for inter-state coordination. The memorandum of understanding signed with Turkish firm Eksen Group marks a step forward but does not yet guarantee the project’s realization or viability.

Henoc Dossa