Unlocking Mineral Resource Potential in Southern African Countries: Is Rail Infrastructure up to the Challenge?

In recent years, there has been new coal, iron-ore and manganese discoveries in southern African countries, and increased trade with emerging economies. However, a key concern is market access and critical infrastructure challenges regarding railways and ports. These factors combine to hinder expansion of trade within Africa and globally. As a result of historic underinvestment in transport infrastructure, these countries are facing an “infrastructure gap”. Most of the railway systems in southern Africa are not functioning as they should. Hence, economic development and regional integration in Southern African countries hinges on rehabilitation of existing rail infrastructure and on building new rail infrastructure. Following a review of corridors and railway projects, this paper identifies the strategic challenges with regard to rail infrastructure provision. In the policy context, the gauge and inter-operability issue i.e. Standard Gauge vs Cape Gauge, taking into account the requirements for interconnections with other regional railways is examined. Some of the other enablement issues are promotion of green technologies, and a robust institutional framework for providing clear guidelines on balanced regulation for ownership and operational structures, promotion of principle of multiple users, and access agreements. Moving forward, an overview of plans and programmes viz.; the Southern African Development Community (SADC) - Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan, the forthcoming Programme of Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) by the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), and the key to policy transfer are discussed.