Botswana’s president Boko calls for Trans-Kalahari Railway Project completion
President Duma Boko says Namibia and Botswana must redouble efforts to complete the Trans-Kalahari Railway Project, which would link the two countries and serve as a logistics corridor.
Boko made the comments following a courtesy visit by President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah to Gaborone, Botswana, last week.
“The rail line that should connect us is something that we need to push with some seriousness, with some speed as well, because it will create a corridor that will enable goods to move.
"It will also enable a decongestion of some other ports in Africa where the volume of traffic is now becoming overwhelming,” Boko said.
The Trans-Kalahari Railway Project remains incomplete, with little tangible development beyond a management office in Windhoek, 15 years after its launch.
The multi-billion-dollar railway, designed to connect Botswana’s coal fields to Namibia’s port of Walvis Bay, was expected to boost regional trade and economic growth.
However, at a joint ministerial committee meeting in Swakopmund in February, Botswana and Namibia acknowledged the delays and called for urgent action.
The project was introduced in 2010 with high expectations.
It was envisioned as a cost-effective transportation route for Botswana’s coal exports, opening trade opportunities and supporting economic diversification.
In 2014, Botswana and Namibia signed a formal agreement to implement the project, and in 2024, officials met in Kasane and agreed it should be “fast-tracked to the point of no return”.
However, no significant construction has taken place.
Boko also used the visit by Nandi-Ndaitwah to thank the Namibian government for providing a dry port to Botswana.
“Namibia has been very generous to Botswana. We have been given land for a dry port. We are most grateful to the Namibian government.
"We are confident, we have absolutely no doubt, that the relations between our two countries will become stronger, will become firmer, and will bring outstanding outcomes for our people,” he said.
Boko made the comments following a courtesy visit by President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah to Gaborone, Botswana, last week.
“The rail line that should connect us is something that we need to push with some seriousness, with some speed as well, because it will create a corridor that will enable goods to move.
"It will also enable a decongestion of some other ports in Africa where the volume of traffic is now becoming overwhelming,” Boko said.
The Trans-Kalahari Railway Project remains incomplete, with little tangible development beyond a management office in Windhoek, 15 years after its launch.
The multi-billion-dollar railway, designed to connect Botswana’s coal fields to Namibia’s port of Walvis Bay, was expected to boost regional trade and economic growth.
However, at a joint ministerial committee meeting in Swakopmund in February, Botswana and Namibia acknowledged the delays and called for urgent action.
The project was introduced in 2010 with high expectations.
It was envisioned as a cost-effective transportation route for Botswana’s coal exports, opening trade opportunities and supporting economic diversification.
In 2014, Botswana and Namibia signed a formal agreement to implement the project, and in 2024, officials met in Kasane and agreed it should be “fast-tracked to the point of no return”.
However, no significant construction has taken place.
Boko also used the visit by Nandi-Ndaitwah to thank the Namibian government for providing a dry port to Botswana.
“Namibia has been very generous to Botswana. We have been given land for a dry port. We are most grateful to the Namibian government.
"We are confident, we have absolutely no doubt, that the relations between our two countries will become stronger, will become firmer, and will bring outstanding outcomes for our people,” he said.
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