Namibia spent over N$1B on a railway. The trains run almost empty. ⠀ Tsumeb to the Angolan border, opened in 2012, built to serve the four O regions. The cargo never really came. ⠀ Were we as a country optimising for votes, or was that the best call with the information we had at the time? Probably some of both. ⠀ The case for the other line is the cargo that already exists. About a million tonnes of DRC and Zambian copper a year moves down the Trans Caprivi corridor to Walvis Bay, all of it on trucks. The African Development Bank co funded a feasibility study for a 772km line from Grootfontein, through Rundu, to Katima Mulilo, hooking into Zambia at Livingstone. The IRR works. ⠀ China is recapitalising TAZARA through Tanzania. The US and EU are funding the Lobito Corridor through Angola. The copper will move. Question is which port collects the rent. ⠀ #Namibia #LobitoCorridor #AfricanInfrastructure #CapitalAllocation #GlobalArbitrage