Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway

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[edit] Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway

Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway (Pvt) Ltd (BBR), is a private railway company incorporated and registered in Zimbabwe, in 1997.

It became operational in July 1999 and was commissioned by the President of Zimbabwe, on 1st September 1999. Its main business is the operation of a 350-kilometre railroad link between Beitbridge (at the border of Zimbabwe and South Africa) and Bulawayo. The railway line, once only a dream, became a reality when construction was completed in a record time of 16 months. Construction funds amounting to US$ 85 million were raised from the shareholders and from South Africa’s Rand Merchant Bank.

BBR is a subsidiary of NLPI Ltd (NLPI), an investment holding company, whose main investment focus is infrastructure-related projects on the continent of Africa. The shareholders of NLPI are Nedbank Ltd, Old Mutual and Sanlam, all major South African financial institutions, together with New Limpopo Bridge Projects Limited (NLP), an investment company controlled by Mr. Mordechai Tager and Mr. Zion Elani, both entrepreneurs with extensive project development experience. NLPI has a collective 85% interest in BBR, while the National Railways of Zimbabwe holds a local 15% stake in the company.

The project promoters specialise in self-financing B.O.T. (Build-Operate-Transfer) projects. The need for private sector participation in infrastructure projects in southern Africa was identified in 1993, by Mr. Mordechai Tager and Mr. Zion Elani, and this ultimately resulted in the commissioning of NLPI’s first B.O.T. project namely, the New Limpopo Bridge, operating under its subsidiary company, New Limpopo Bridge (Pvt) Ltd.

BBR, as a self-financed project based on the B.O.T. concept, symbolised the commitment of the NLPI Group towards current and future investment which relieves governments from the obligation to fund infrastructure projects, thus freeing such funds for other sectors such as health, education etc, to the benefit of their citizens. BBR is the first operation of its kind in the SADC region and reflects the progressive execution of the SADC countries’ transport policy, well defined in the SADC protocol on transport, communication and meteorology as having the aim of “increasing private sector involvement in railways investment with a view to improving railway network and service standards.”

The railway line connects South Africa to the industrial heartland of Zimbabwe, thereby contributing to increased trade between the two countries. It is the gateway to the shortest geographical route and most efficient transport corridor to and from South Africa, through Zimbabwe and countries to the north, i.e. Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ongoing improvements to the Corridor range from programmes for staff training and safety, to innovative techniques for shortening turnaround times. State of the art monitoring and IT systems were installed in 2007 to manage operations and improve customer care.

Barely 18 months into operation, the Southern African Railways Association (SARA) nominated the railway Corridor comprising the BBR line “the best” in the Region. To provide a solid base for the operation of a viable, customer-oriented railway, the company ensured that top calibre, highly skilled, Zimbabwean and international staff were recruited. The company is wholly run and controlled by indigenous Zimbabwean personnel in keeping with its corporate vision to promote the well being of the people of Africa.