BOTSWANA Railways (BR) has issued a call for tender for the purchase or lease of coal wagons and locomotives. Closing date for bids is March 15.
Botswana has estimated coal reserves of 212 billion tonnes, and BR has been discussing with Transnet, South Africa, the transport of up to 80 million tonnes of coal per annum either for domestic use or export.
The two railways are also discussing the possibility of building a new heavy-haul line linking Botswana with South Africa.
Trans-Kalahari
BR signed a memorandum of understanding with Namibia’s national railway TransNamib in January regarding the $US 9.5bn Trans-Kalahari railway project to provide a rail link between Botswana’s north-south main line and the Namibian rail network to give Botswana access to Atlantic-coast ports.
