Zambia Needs Railways to Move Increased Production, Says Musokotwane

Zambia must invest in rail because roads alone cannot carry the volumes the country intends to produce and export, Finance and National Planning Minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane has said.

Speaking on ZNBC's Sunday Interview, Dr Musokotwane said the country's production targets could not be met without a step change in how goods move from farms and mines to local and international markets.

"You cannot transport all this maize by road. You cannot transport all this copper by road. We need railways," he said.

The targets are substantial: 10 million tonnes of maize, three million tonnes of copper and three million tonnes of soya beans, alongside one million tonnes each of sugar and wheat and beef exports worth at least US$1 billion. Moving that output, the Minister said, would far exceed what the current transport system can comfortably handle.

The rehabilitation of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority line and development of the Lobito Corridor are therefore central to the country's economic plans, allowing large volumes to move without placing excessive pressure on the road network.

Dr Musokotwane said the Treasury could not fund major infrastructure alone, and that Government would use Public-Private Partnerships to bring private capital into projects such as rail. Government's role, he said, was to create the conditions that encourage investors to put money into infrastructure and productive sectors.

Producing large quantities of maize, copper or sugar, he added, would have little value if the country could not move them efficiently to buyers.