14 Aug 2025

A Joint Ministerial Committee meeting of the Trans- Kalahari Railway Project is expected to convene in Maun on August 15.

Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Mr Noah Salakae recently engaged in precursor events among them a tour of the railway line in Rasesa.

The tour was intended to view and appreciate the railway line that is one of the major railway corridor projects earmarked to improve regional cargo transport and ease road congestion.

“I had to come here to appreciate and get first-hand information of the railway line and also see the Tshele fuel storage facility as a portfolio minister responsible for transport,” he said.

Minister Salakae said his interest was focused on progress made on the Trans-Kalahari Railway Project, which aimed to connect Botswana and Namibia.

Ministry permanent secretary, Mr Kgakgamatso Ketshajwang emphasised the importance of infrastructure development between Botswana and Namibia, stating that the corridor that linked Walvis Bay and Gaborone would entail a heavy haul rail line branching off from the main one in Rasesa to Tshele Hill.

He said currently, the two countries were awaiting the conclusion of a feasibility study that would determine development going forward.

Ministry of Minerals and Energy project manager, Mr Leabaneng Matsuane, explained that a private investor would be allowed to develop storage tanks and be repaid with funds raised through Tshele levy.

He emphamsised the importance of Tshele Hill fuel storage to government, to bolster the country’s fuel security by increasing national strategic petroleum storage capacity by constructing a tank with capacity of 187 million litres. ENDS