Namibia’s Minister of Works and Transport, Veikko Nekundi has called for engagement of communities from Botswana and Namibia in the decision-making processes on how the Trans-Kalahari railway project shall be executed. Nekundi was speaking during the Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) Meeting on the Trans Kalahari Railway (TKR) Project in Kasane last week Friday.
“This railway belongs to the communities along its route. Therefore, as we deliberate, we must embed the principle of local participation into our decisions,” he said. Nekundi noted that Namibian and Batswana contractors, professionals, and suppliers must be given genuine opportunities at every phase; not as charity, but as a deliberate condition of how this project shall be executed. He stated that the project’s success will be measured not only by engineering soundness, but by the fairness of its processes and the prosperity is paramount for social stability and inclusive development to the people.
Nekundi further announced the completion of the project’s feasibility study, citing that its completion is a testament to the persistence of Botswana and Namibia’s Joint Technical Committee, the Joint Steering Committee and the consultants. He said that the task now is to interrogate its recommendations with discipline, to address the financing mechanisms, to agree on transparent procurement strategies, and, crucially, to ensure that community engagement is not an afterthought but a continuous, living feature of the project.
“Let us not undersell what we are building. This is not just a transport project. It is a development corridor; a physical spine for regional integration. It is the answer to the Africa Continental Free Trade Area’s call for tangible connectivity. When this line is complete, it will carry more than minerals through Walvis Bay. It will carry the collective ambitions of two nations and the economic liberation of a landlocked region,” he said.
For his part, Botswana’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Noah Salakae commended Botswana and Namibia for completing the project’s feasibility study on time and on budget. He explained that in the completion of the study, the two nations will unlock the beginning of the construction of the first and longest direct, heavy-haul logistical corridor in Southern Africa, opening linkages for Botswana’s six landlocked interior to Namibia’s Atlantic gateway at the North of the Port of Walvis Bay.
“My prayer is that December 2026 must not come before we say something about when and how the actual construction of the Trans Kalahari will commence. Our people want to see the first step that we are on,” he said. According to Salakae, at first phase the Trans Kalahari corridor will employ about 6,000 Batswana and about 4,000 Namibians. Salakae noted that the TKR project is more than just steel tracks but about enhancing logistics ecosystem, deepening historical solidarity, friendship and numerous possibilities that exist for the people of the two nations.
“Through this project, we have the potential to provide our region with reliability to build markets, unlock Southern Africa’s mineral potential, enhance regional connectivity, and deliver a dependable gateway to global markets,” he said.
