Turkish firm to tackle railway rehab work in Zambia

By James Kunda

LUSAKA, Zambia (AA) – A Turkish company has started railway rehabilitation work in Zambia.

Yapiray, the railway infrastructure division of Turkish contractor Yapi Merkezi, has commenced the work at a cost of €978 million ($975 million), it said in a statement Tuesday.

An estimated 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) stretch from Livingstone in the south to Chingola on the Copperbelt is currently undergoing track assessment work and is envisaged to transform Zambia, Africa's second-largest producer of copper, into a regional transport hub.

The project will increase train traffic speed from 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) per hour to 50-80 kph. In addition, freight capacity will increase from 0.9 million tons to 5.9 million tons, aimed at transforming Zambia into a transnational hub in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, said the statement.

It added that 1,000 job opportunities will be created for the local population during the construction phase.

Recently, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema placed on record his country's admiration for the strides Türkiye has made in infrastructure development, primarily under private sector-driven projects.

Swearing in the country's new ambassador to Türkiye, William Sikazwe, Hichilema said there was a lot of knowledge that could be tapped by his country from how Türkiye had turned itself into a vantage gateway for the transportation of goods around Europe and beyond.