P160 Billion project moves closer to reality

The 1,500-kilometer Trans-Kalahari Railway and Port project (TKRP), Botswana’s largest Public-Private Partnership (PPP) venture, is rapidly advancing toward the final stages of due diligence. This ambitious joint venture between Botswana and Namibia aims to construct a railway and port, among other infrastructure. According to documents obtained by this publication, Botswana’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Noah Salakae, and his Namibian counterpart, Veikko Nekundi, recently approved extending the completion date of the feasibility study by two months, moving it from April to June 2026.

The ministers were also briefed on the start of technical and engineering assessments, which include procuring WorldDem Neo data, conducting hydrological studies, and carrying out geotechnical analyses. WorldDem Neo, a mapping data service offered by Airbus Intelligence, provides satellite elevation models that filter out tree canopies and man-made structures to reveal the earth’s bare terrain. These data products are widely used in civil engineering, military operations, and aviation.

Additionally, the project secretariat conducted a benchmarking visit to the Lobito Corridor on September 22, 2025. The Lobito Corridor is a comparable railway and logistics initiative designed to link the Port of Lobito, located on Angola’s Atlantic coast, with the Central African Copperbelt in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. The extended feasibility study is being carried out by London-based firm CPCS Transcom.

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If approved for construction, this rail and port development will become Botswana’s largest PPP agreement to date, surpassing all previously proposed ventures in scale and ambition. Financial estimates from a Deloitte commercial assessment, also reviewed by this publication, place the construction costs at approximately USD 12 billion (P164.6 billion). The infrastructure is intended to facilitate the export of a portion of Botswana’s estimated 2 billion tons of coal reserves to overseas markets including China, India, South Korea, Japan, and Germany.

“The main features of the project that may lend it to be delivered through a PPP are substantial capital costs which are estimated to be up to USD 12b, the long life of asset, integral component to the coal supply chain and potentially other mineral resources, bulk goods and containers, significant scope for innovation in the design, construction and operation of the asset,” the Deloitte assessment states in part. Given the project’s scale and price tag, it will be developed through a PPP concession under a Design, Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer (DBOOT) arrangement. Public financing alone cannot cover the costs.

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