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Tsingshan, Zimbabwe rail sign deal to boost coal and steel haulage
3 hrs ago |
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Zimbabwe's National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) has signed a partnership agreement with Chinese metals giant Tsingshan Holding Group's local steelmaking unit to increase the movement of coal and steel by rail.
The agreement, signed on Monday, will see Dinson Steel Company transport 1.1 million tonnes of coal from Hwange to its US$1 billion steel plant in central Zimbabwe, a distance of about 600 kilometres.
Dinson Steel's plant, which began production in 2024, is expected to also use the rail network to transport 600,000 tonnes of steel products to markets in Zimbabwe and the wider region, according to the NRZ.
Under the agreement, Grand Railway Solutions, a subsidiary of the Dinson group, will provide locomotives, wagons and fuel, while NRZ will provide railway infrastructure and train crews.
The partnership also includes a major railway infrastructure upgrade, beginning with the rehabilitation of an 80-kilometre section between Gweru and Mvuma at an estimated cost of US$27 million.
This will be followed by construction of a 50-kilometre railway line connecting Mvuma to the Dinson steel plant under a build-operate-transfer arrangement.
Grand Railway Services will finance construction of the new track and subsequently transfer it to NRZ, recovering its investment through agreed offsets.
NRZ said the partnership would significantly increase its annual freight volumes while shifting a substantial portion of coal transportation from roads to rail.
"This deal is set to significantly increase annual tonnage for NRZ, while at the same time transferring the bulk of coal traffic from Hwange from road to rail," the state-owned railway company said.
The agreement comes as NRZ seeks to rebuild its freight business after years of under-investment and deteriorating infrastructure.
The railway operator has increasingly turned to partnerships with private logistics companies and major bulk commodity producers to revive freight volumes, which have fallen sharply from a peak of about 12 million tonnes in the 1990s to around two million tonnes in 2025.
The Dinson partnership is expected to provide NRZ with a major increase in bulk freight volumes while reducing pressure on Zimbabwe's road network and lowering the reliance on long-distance trucking for coal transportation.
The agreement, signed on Monday, will see Dinson Steel Company transport 1.1 million tonnes of coal from Hwange to its US$1 billion steel plant in central Zimbabwe, a distance of about 600 kilometres.
Dinson Steel's plant, which began production in 2024, is expected to also use the rail network to transport 600,000 tonnes of steel products to markets in Zimbabwe and the wider region, according to the NRZ.
Under the agreement, Grand Railway Solutions, a subsidiary of the Dinson group, will provide locomotives, wagons and fuel, while NRZ will provide railway infrastructure and train crews.
The partnership also includes a major railway infrastructure upgrade, beginning with the rehabilitation of an 80-kilometre section between Gweru and Mvuma at an estimated cost of US$27 million.
This will be followed by construction of a 50-kilometre railway line connecting Mvuma to the Dinson steel plant under a build-operate-transfer arrangement.
NRZ said the partnership would significantly increase its annual freight volumes while shifting a substantial portion of coal transportation from roads to rail.
"This deal is set to significantly increase annual tonnage for NRZ, while at the same time transferring the bulk of coal traffic from Hwange from road to rail," the state-owned railway company said.
The agreement comes as NRZ seeks to rebuild its freight business after years of under-investment and deteriorating infrastructure.
The railway operator has increasingly turned to partnerships with private logistics companies and major bulk commodity producers to revive freight volumes, which have fallen sharply from a peak of about 12 million tonnes in the 1990s to around two million tonnes in 2025.
The Dinson partnership is expected to provide NRZ with a major increase in bulk freight volumes while reducing pressure on Zimbabwe's road network and lowering the reliance on long-distance trucking for coal transportation.
Source - Reuters
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