Link:https://m.huanqiu.com/article/4IGs2wLLmUt

Introduction

Africa, one of the world’s mineral-rich continents, has had a long and rich railway history dating back to the pre-colonial era. It is a history that cannot be written off as it bears the true reasons for celebrating the current global infrastructural trajectory of the Chinese Government’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The infrastructural gap that has existed since the pre-colonial era continues into the post-colonial era and even today. However, the Chinese 21^st-century Maritime Silk Road is writing on the walls of the African continent a new history for later generations to read and be thankful that such investment decisions were taken for and on their behalf. This infrastructural trajectory brings connectivity, and economic boost while ferrying expertise into the continent. This is why more than 30% of China’s investment in the continent is in infrastructure. The propelling investment of the 21^st-century Maritime Silk Road has “five connectivities” that were put forth by China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Commerce in March 2015 for effective execution of the BRI. These connectivities, as referred to by Adefolake Adeyeye (2017), are policy coordination, infrastructure connection, trade facilitation, financial integration, and people-to-people exchange. This Maritime Silk Road (MSR) plans to enroot through and connect major seaports around the world via an Asia-Europe-Africa network—a network connectivity that is sure to increase net worth. The MSR initiative is in coherence with the African Union’s (AU) Integrated High-Speed Railway Network (AIHSRN) under its “Agenda 2063.” Therefore, BRI is a major boost to the continent’s actualization of its maiden agenda through a vision of fostering both physical and economic integration across the continent via its Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA). This will serve as a key facilitator for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The words of President Xi Jinping at the opening of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in 2017 are the building blocks for this much-spoken-about mammoth BRI, which resonates with the true spirit of hope for the world, and have since been backed by actions in the current dispensation of the Belt and Road Initiative trajectory:

“Infrastructure connectivity is the foundation of development through cooperation. We should all promote land, maritime, and cyberspace connectivity, concentrate our efforts on key passageways, cities and projects and connect networks of highways, railways and sea ports…. We need to seize opportunities presented by the new round of change in the energy mix and the revolution in energy technologies to develop global energy interconnection and achieve green and low-carbon development. We should improve trans-regional logistics network and promote connectivity of policies, rules and standards to provide institutional safeguards for enhancing connectivity.” - President Xi Jinping 2017

A BRIEF ABOUT SIERRA LEONE RAILWAYS AND ITS CURRENT STATE

I’m starting with one of West Africa’s rich mineral countries, Sierra Leone, which is enveloped with diamonds, rutile, bauxite, gold, iron ore, limonite, platinum, chromite, coltan, tantalite, columbite, and zircon, as well as promising petroleum potential that was discovered not too long ago.  This nation once enjoyed a railway facility dating back to the 19th century but ended in 1975 (1897–1975). The railway enrooted through Water Street of the country’s capital, Freetown, to Wellington, was officially opened in March 1897. Unfortunately, before I was born, the Sierra Leone Railway was already no longer in service. I have, however, been able to trace through history and see artefacts and some museums that still show the resemblance of this once beautiful "Sierra Leone Railway System." These memories created a reflection that has enveloped my thoughts with a missing beauty of the millennia. I’m now captivated with awe and wonder as I walk through the land containing images and inscriptions of a dream reality the nation once enjoyed.  The stories told about these historic perspectives of national treasures in the present day are mind-blowing, and I always wish I had witnessed such thrilling moments of the mid-90s. The remains of the rail wagons and locomotives are still visible, and the rail gauge in certain parts can also be seen.

In a world where passenger railway infrastructure forms part of a key component of trade liberalization and a lubricant to economic development, there comes a nation that only appreciates the sweet memories such millennia of infrastructure once brought to them. However, a revitalization drive by the Chinese company Leone Rock Metal Group (LRMG), which started with mineral railway construction to convey mineral products from the mining site of Tonkolili District to the new seaport of Pepel, is a renewed hope for the West African nation. Even in the past, it was evident that most of these railways were particularly enrooted in mineral-rich communities, a reality that is still evident in the present-day revitalization of the 1975 long-abandoned railway. The first commercial shipment of the country’s iron ore deposits from Marampa to Glassgow, with 8,000 tons, happened in September 1933.

Since shipment of the iron ore from the country's rich iron ore mineral deposit district, Tonkolili, to a new seaport at Tagrin requires the construction of a 192km heavy railway, which further requires a reconstruction of the Pepel Port and the Pepel-Marampa railway to support the shipment of the large deposit of hematite for the mining companies, a 3'6" large freight train with large wagons and locomotives has been built from Tonkolili, through Marampa, to Tagrin, where the seaport is located. This is the current and only railway in this West African nation and its reconstruction started by African Minerals Limited, to Shangdong Steel Mines, and currently Leone Rock Metal Group. The Railway which is now named after the Chinese company, "Leone Rock Railway" is, however, not a public passenger train railway but purely constructed for the transportation of minerals. Traces of the locomotives and wagons, panelling and other miscellaneous pipes of this once beautiful railway can be seen in most of the country where the railways once enrooted.

Source: https://www.derbysulzers.com/sierraleone.html 

A view of Sierra Leone's first railway for the transportation of Iron ore

Source: Leone Rock archives 

A 2023 picture of the new "Leone Rock Railway" for transportation of minerals from the mining site to the seaport

THE TAZARA, SGR AND THE BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE IN FOCUS

In the past decade and counting, there has been a significant shift in the world’s construction and infrastructure, which is taking place in Africa, with China at the epicentre of it all. In the 1955 Bandung Conference, leaders from 29 African and Asian nations met in solidarity to stand firm amidst the wake of Western colonialism. At that conference, one of the famous post-colonial bi-national railways linking the Southern African regional transport links to the Eastern African Seaport of Dar es Salaam, TAZARA of Tanzania, and Zambia was initiated. However, before the Asian giant nation stepped in to commit to financing this million-dollar project, the two nations first approached the Western countries to support this mammoth project, but their request was rebuffed, stating the financial implications are huge and not economically viable, a decision that was equally supported by the World Bank. These two nations’ first leaders, Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia and Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, after suffering this disappointing reality shock from the West, turned to China for assistance. The Asian giant, however, responded positively to this request during the Bandung Conference. The multilateral million-dollar agreement for the construction of this project reached conclusions in Beijing, China’s capital, on September 5, 1967. The maiden multilateral project offers the two nations a loan of $400 million from Chairman Mao Zedong’s Chinese administration to be paid over a 30-year time. Tens of thousands of Chinese nationals made their way into the East African homeland as rail experts and other workers to be part of China’s major engineering project in Africa. The construction took almost 8 years, and the railway was finally opened for use in 1975. The Tanzania and Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) is around 1,860km (1,155 miles) from Tanzania’s commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, to Kapiri Mposhi in the heart of Zambia’s copper belt. Among the many reasons for the construction of the TAZARA was to address the overreliance on Zambia exporting its copper through Zimbabwe and South Africa, which tasked them with too much duty. This was taken by both presidents in the true spirit of pan-Africanism to pave the way to economic freedom. The rail system offers both freight and passenger transportation services between and within the two nations. The tragic and heroic part of this railway project was that over 160 workers died along the way, among them 64 Chinese nationals (RIP to the departed souls) who sacrificed for this great friendship.

A similar railway, the Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway, in East Africa, operating under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, was constructed. The two governments—the Ethiopian government and the Djibouti government—collaborated to have a bilateral and PPP agreement with Railway Operation Limited, a subsidiary company of China Civil and Engineering and Construction Cooperation (CCECC). The CCECC is the lead company for the revitalization of the TAZARA project. This $4 billion Chinese railway built across Ethiopia spans 756km from Addis Ababa to the great port of Djibouti. This billion-dollar project, whose commercial activities started back in 2018, is now the backbone of the Ethiopian National Railway network.

This TAZARA railway has been a source of livelihood for families by creating job opportunities, trade opportunities, and economic development in the eastern part of the continent. However, this beautiful story reached its tragic point when it crumbled because of a lack of maintenance on the machines and a lack of funds to pay the workers. Breakdown parts have to be kept in most warehouses along the railway embankment, and the workers have to wait for funds and other equipment for a very long time. The crumbling of the rail and the ageing maintenance culture created significant harm to this project, which saw abandoned rail wagons scattered along the rail side with careless abandonment. This had led to the laying down of tools by most of the workers as they had moved to find greener pastures somewhere else.

The initiative to revitalize this railway reached its epoch with a meeting between the two governments’ authorities on August 20, 2023, in Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania. A tripartite working group was established, and final discussions on these revitalization moves were scheduled for April 2024.

The reintegration of this railway project by the Chinese, who had once accepted this great idea in the early nineties when it was rejected by Western powers, would see the continuation of its support for the multitude of communities that live along the 1,860 km of railway embankments. Since the inception of this railway in 1975, small villages along the rail have grown into bigger communities, creating job opportunities and a large market for farmers too.

Photo credit: Thomas Lewton 2018 – Farmers selling their products along the TAZARA embankments

The project to upgrade and uplift Kenya’s railway system, which also met with several criticisms from the West, including the World Bank, saw China in full gear, ready to render assistance. The standard gauge railway (SGR) project is China’s flagship investment project in this East African nation. This SGR connects Mombasa, the largest port city in Kenya, to the capital, Nairobi. The railway built by Chinese enterprises and opened to traffic in 2017 cost a whopping sum, with the government paying only 10% of the total of $3.8 billion, while 90 percent is offered by China’s Exim Bank. This single-track standard gauge rail between the nation’s capital, Nairobi, and Mombasa has a route length of 480km and a total length of 609km. The Kenyan government is currently planning an extension (Phase 2) of the SGR to Kisumu, Malaba, and Isiolo by June 2027. Despite the huge sum of dollars or Kenyan shillings involved, an estimated $15,317,286,600 (approximately Kshs. 2.1 trillion), this mammoth project will provide a major boost to the economy. The Chinese Exim Bank will finance 85% of the project’s cost, while 15% will be borne by the host nation. The commonly called Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway will connect Uganda, the DRC, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and Ethiopia. This will open doors for trade links to the northern corridors of the country, which will also contribute to revamping the country’s ailing economy. This MSR road network in this East African nation links the nation’s major port of Mombasa to those in Europe, the Middle East, and the Asian Pacific region.

Source: constructionreview.com – Kenya Standard Gauge Railway view.

A friend in need, they say, is a friend in deed; therefore, China has solidified that popular phrase by always standing in solidarity with the friend, Africa, whenever in need. This has been manifested in different facets. You don’t have to bring to the negotiation table draconian rules when dealing with a friend. This has been a good part of the China-Africa friendship, where a bilateral and multilateral approach is always found as the best alternative to Africa’s growth needs.

Those arguing that the Chinese infrastructure and railway investments in Africa are bringing more burden and less income than expected are looking at it with a single and shallow lens. We should have broader thoughts around it, like talking about the extra economic activities undertaken by the citizens within the country through the smooth movement of people, goods, and services, which continue to increase the revenues of businesses and companies. This will, in turn, energize businesses and increase government revenue through the taxes paid by these businesses and companies. These activities will revamp the economy in the long run. Infrastructure is a major boost to developing nations that needs time, so China is laying the tracks for building a long-term relationship with Africa. If we believe in the power of infrastructure and its unshakable ability to catalyze the growing African economies, then China should be trusted as our best friend.

Recommendations

The news of the resurrection and revitalization of TAZARA by the Chinese is expected to bring back the lost glory of the 1955 dream multilateral project to the Eastern African nations. Also, the news about the beginning of SGR phrase 2 in 2027 in Kenya is welcoming, as development experts have referred to this move by China as a step in the right direction. However, measures should be taken to avert possible negative feedback, especially from the local people, who need to be informed about this maiden BRI objectives, benefits, and potential impacts. This will eradicate any erroneous thoughts or misinformation about BRI projects at the community level and imbibe in the people a feeling of responsibility for true partnership and collaboration for mutual benefit, a core value of the Belt and Road Initiative. When the local constituents are well informed, this will further help enrich their knowledge and understanding about BRI and prevent the situation of accepting the "myth" about such huge investment in the continent being referred to as a “debt trap” investment drive. However, for those holding such misconceptions, it's better to understand that you cannot continue to accuse a country’s good gesture of giving out loans or putting huge investments into another as a “debt trap” when there have been records of at least 140 debts written off or restructured since 2000, which ended up costing the lending nation millions of dollars (H. Sabastian et al., 2019). The benevolence showcased by the Chinese government under its 21^st-century Belt and Road Initiative is proving very worthy and should be celebrated, especially because its goals are sandwiched with the dream of a "Better Africa."

It’s arguably said that the continent does not have a particular standard for building its 21st-century railways; it, however, relies on colonial-era tracks. This does not resonate with current global railway standards; however, the current massive railways of the continent are a mixture of colonial-era tracks and newer Chinese standards. But in a world engulfed with so many uncertainties, it’s worthwhile for Africans to leverage the Belt and Road initiative to diversify risk, take a stand, and ensure a partnership that will also call for and negotiate the establishment of factories and companies that are major producers of equipment for these multibillion-dollar infrastructural projects on the continent. This will enable the continent to have the expertise and institutions to manufacture equipment and other components of this huge infrastructural investment that will save millions of dollars and add to the continent’s investment statistics in the future.

Increased publicity from authorities about the relevance of using the railway and increasing the confidence of the passengers that the railway provides cheap and comfortable services compared to other alternative travels, like road or sea, will build back the zest and help reactivate and prepare their minds. This will increase “passenger—rail transport trust through increased usage,” which increases revenue and subsequent economic development.

Finally, Chinese companies should continue to pay attention to calls made by residents of communities where they operate to address environmental concerns (L. Youjin et al., 2024) and continue to adhere to genuine corporate social responsibility concerns. This will create a harmonious working environment, foster economic prosperity and mutual understanding, and strengthen the existing ties and cooperations between these Chinese companies and the residents.

References

Adefolake Adeyeye (2017): China-Africa Relations, Musings from the Belt and Road Initiative, NTU-SBF Center for African Studies

D. Dollar (2019): Understanding China’s Belt and Road Infrastructure Project in Africa - Global China

H. Sebastian, et al., (2019): “China’s Overseas Lending,” NBER Working Papers 26050, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20180305-the-freedom-railway-an-1860km-journey-across-africa

London Mining PLC quarterly operation report, dated 10^th September 2007 and March 30^th 2008

M. Farooq, T. Tongkai, Z. Jiangang et al. (2018): Kenyan 21st–century Maritime Silk Road - Implications for China-Africa Relations

Patricia, M. (2023): Kenya Standard Gauge Railway (Kenya SGR) project

Sierra Leone National Railway Museum