TSINGSHAN Holdings, a Chinese-owned company with interests in coal, steel, and chrome, is reportedly planning to build a new cargo railway system in Zimbabwe.

The railway will connect Tsingshan’s three subsidiaries in Hwange, Chegutu, and Chivhu with the port of Beira and will be constructed alongside the rehabilitation of the National Railways of Zimbabwe’s (NRZ) old line.

Project Manager Wilfred Motsi stated that the company has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Zimbabwe government to undertake the refurbishment and construction of a 1,000km railway line system, which is expected to cost billions of dollars according to initial research.

The NRZ has struggled with poor funding and administration, leading to a decline in its locomotive and wagon fleets and an inability to maintain and rehabilitate its network.

TSINGSHAN’s Manhidze project, which involves the construction of a $1 billion steel plant, is reportedly the largest single foreign investment in Zimbabwe since President Emmerson Mnangagwa took office.