The governments of Botswana and Namibia said the development of the Trans Kalahari Rail project is expected to begin in June 2011. A short-list from among the parties that submitted expressions of interest is expected to be announced in February 2011, and the parties will then submit their technical proposals for the project.
The proposed Trans Kalahari rail project is a 1,500 km rail line running from Botswana and the Waterberg coalfield in South Africa to a port in Namibia. A pre-feasibility study on the rail project funded by the World Bank and supervised by the governments of Botswana and Namibia was expected to be completed in December 2010. The selected developer will be expected to design, build and operate the Trans Kalahari Rail Line and port in Namibia for an unspecified period of time before transferring it to the governments of Botswana and Namibia.
