Johannesburg - Logistics company Grindrod said on Monday it has clinched a deal to help build, operate and maintain a 590km railway connecting Zambia's copper belt with the Angolan border at an estimated cost of $989m.
Construction of the first phase connecting Chingola to the Kansanshi, Lumwana and Kalumbila mines is set to begin this year and will cost $489m. The 290-km line will carry existing ore and finished copper traffic.
"Phase II is intended to open up a direct corridor to Lobito, which would allow landlocked Zambia to import oil directly from Angola, and to stimulate further mining activity in the western copper belt region," a Grindrod statement said.
Grindrod will be working with Northwest Rail Company, a Zambian firm granted exclusive rights to develop the railway in 2006.
Grindrod shares were up 2% at R25.84 at 08:23 GMT, outpacing Johannesburg's all-share index, which rose 0.2%.
Construction of the first phase connecting Chingola to the Kansanshi, Lumwana and Kalumbila mines is set to begin this year and will cost $489m. The 290-km line will carry existing ore and finished copper traffic.
"Phase II is intended to open up a direct corridor to Lobito, which would allow landlocked Zambia to import oil directly from Angola, and to stimulate further mining activity in the western copper belt region," a Grindrod statement said.
Grindrod will be working with Northwest Rail Company, a Zambian firm granted exclusive rights to develop the railway in 2006.
Grindrod shares were up 2% at R25.84 at 08:23 GMT, outpacing Johannesburg's all-share index, which rose 0.2%.