EU pledges further support for Zambia Railways rehabilitation after €50m grant

Zambia Railways Limited has received a €50 million EU grant to rehabilitate the rail line from Livingstone to Kapiri and from Kapiri to Ndola, with the European Union already indicating willingness to support a second phase of works.

Managing Director Cuthbert Malindi said the grant forms part of a broader strategic business plan covering 2024 to 2028, with the full cost of fixing the entire line estimated at $113 million. The balance will be raised through the private sector and development finance institutions.

"The objective of the grant is twofold," Malindi explained. "To reduce temporary speed restrictions between Livingstone and Kapiri, and to rehabilitate the Kapiri to Ndola line, which serves the mines and is our most profitable corridor."

Malindi added that a successful phase one could unlock between $500 million and $700 million in further investment through the European Investment Bank and other cooperating partners.

On rolling stock, he confirmed that six locomotives would be remanufactured under a vendor-financing arrangement with South African firm Worldwide Rail and Mining Company, with the first two expected in May and all six operational by December.

Malindi argued that rail investment delivers outsized economic returns, noting that approximately 90 per cent of Zambia's freight currently moves by road — a situation he described as damaging to infrastructure and limiting to growth.

"Rail is transformative," he said. "This government is very supportive of what Zambia Railways is doing."