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Mnangagwa set to tie up $533 million railway revamp deal
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President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday met executives of the China Railway Group (CRG) in Beijing to finalise a transformative US$533 million deal to overhaul Zimbabwe's deteriorating railway system, the presidency confirmed.
Presidential spokesman George Charamba said the discussions, held ahead of Mnangagwa's attendance at China's Victory Parade on Wednesday, marked a major step towards securing one of the largest infrastructure partnerships between Zimbabwe and China in decades.
"Zimbabwe is on the verge of clinching a deal with the China Railway Group so work on this critical enabler starts," Charamba said. "CRG has been in constant communication with government on revamping and expanding Zimbabwe's rail network."
CRG, which has built more than two-thirds of China's railway system and operates globally, is expected to undertake a full-scale rehabilitation of Zimbabwe's colonial-era network. The project includes modernising key lines, upgrading signaling systems, and supplying 17 new locomotives along with 209 freight wagons. Plans also cover the construction of five new stations and a strategic new line linking Beitbridge and Harare.
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube disclosed earlier this year that the deal was valued at US$533 million and would be implemented by TransTech Engineering Corporation, a CRG subsidiary with a track record of major African railway projects. These include the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway and the 1,860km TAZARA line between Tanzania and Zambia.
Zimbabwe's railway infrastructure, once a backbone of regional trade, has been in decline for decades. Built over a century ago during British colonial rule, the network peaked in the 1990s when it transported up to 12 million tonnes of cargo annually. Today, it carries less than 3 million tonnes, crippled by poor maintenance, lack of investment and outdated rolling stock. Overgrown tracks and inoperable locomotives have left large parts of the system idle.
The decline has weighed heavily on Zimbabwe's mining sector, which relies on rail to move bulk commodities like coal, chrome, granite, and increasingly, lithium — a mineral in high demand for global clean energy technologies. Chinese companies including Tsingshan Holdings, Sinosteel, Huayou Cobalt and Chengxin Lithium have invested heavily in Zimbabwe's mineral sector but continue to face bottlenecks exporting their products.
Analysts say the CRG deal could be a game-changer, helping Zimbabwe meet its US$12 billion mining industry target by easing the movement of minerals to ports in Mozambique and South Africa for export to Asia, particularly China.
The project is expected to complement other efforts to revitalise the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), which has already engaged 11 private players in its modernisation drive. Among them is South Africa's Grindrod, which has deployed three locomotives and 150 wagons since March 2024 through its Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway subsidiary.
Ncube has said a feasibility study for the CRG-led project was due for completion by the end of June 2025, though the formal signing of the deal was delayed after the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation summit in Beijing last month.
The financing model has not yet been disclosed, but officials suggest it will likely combine Chinese loans and contractor financing — a formula that could deepen Zimbabwe's debt exposure to Chinese institutions.
If finalised, the project would mark one of the most significant Chinese infrastructure investments in Zimbabwe since the Kariba South hydropower extension, and could reshape the country's transport and trade landscape for decades.
Presidential spokesman George Charamba said the discussions, held ahead of Mnangagwa's attendance at China's Victory Parade on Wednesday, marked a major step towards securing one of the largest infrastructure partnerships between Zimbabwe and China in decades.
"Zimbabwe is on the verge of clinching a deal with the China Railway Group so work on this critical enabler starts," Charamba said. "CRG has been in constant communication with government on revamping and expanding Zimbabwe's rail network."
CRG, which has built more than two-thirds of China's railway system and operates globally, is expected to undertake a full-scale rehabilitation of Zimbabwe's colonial-era network. The project includes modernising key lines, upgrading signaling systems, and supplying 17 new locomotives along with 209 freight wagons. Plans also cover the construction of five new stations and a strategic new line linking Beitbridge and Harare.
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube disclosed earlier this year that the deal was valued at US$533 million and would be implemented by TransTech Engineering Corporation, a CRG subsidiary with a track record of major African railway projects. These include the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway and the 1,860km TAZARA line between Tanzania and Zambia.
Zimbabwe's railway infrastructure, once a backbone of regional trade, has been in decline for decades. Built over a century ago during British colonial rule, the network peaked in the 1990s when it transported up to 12 million tonnes of cargo annually. Today, it carries less than 3 million tonnes, crippled by poor maintenance, lack of investment and outdated rolling stock. Overgrown tracks and inoperable locomotives have left large parts of the system idle.
The decline has weighed heavily on Zimbabwe's mining sector, which relies on rail to move bulk commodities like coal, chrome, granite, and increasingly, lithium — a mineral in high demand for global clean energy technologies. Chinese companies including Tsingshan Holdings, Sinosteel, Huayou Cobalt and Chengxin Lithium have invested heavily in Zimbabwe's mineral sector but continue to face bottlenecks exporting their products.
Analysts say the CRG deal could be a game-changer, helping Zimbabwe meet its US$12 billion mining industry target by easing the movement of minerals to ports in Mozambique and South Africa for export to Asia, particularly China.
The project is expected to complement other efforts to revitalise the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), which has already engaged 11 private players in its modernisation drive. Among them is South Africa's Grindrod, which has deployed three locomotives and 150 wagons since March 2024 through its Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway subsidiary.
Ncube has said a feasibility study for the CRG-led project was due for completion by the end of June 2025, though the formal signing of the deal was delayed after the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation summit in Beijing last month.
The financing model has not yet been disclosed, but officials suggest it will likely combine Chinese loans and contractor financing — a formula that could deepen Zimbabwe's debt exposure to Chinese institutions.
If finalised, the project would mark one of the most significant Chinese infrastructure investments in Zimbabwe since the Kariba South hydropower extension, and could reshape the country's transport and trade landscape for decades.
Source - zimlive
