Full Steam Ahead for Africa’s Rail Infrastructure
Railway investment is gaining momentum across Africa. Improved transport connectivity is a key lever of industrial growth and trade – and national rail development strategies are coming to fruition.
Yet the continent’s built rail network remains extremely limited. Africa has around 0.06 cm of railway per person, compared with 64 cm in the United States, 72 cm in Russia, 11.2 cm in China and 4.7 cm in India. The scale of this infrastructure gap places greater emphasis on the quality of project preparation and delivery needed to expand and modernise the network (European Commission 2023).
Railway project managers today combine engineering leadership with commercial structuring, policy awareness and multi-stakeholder coordination. Their decisions shape network performance and wider spatial development. They also influence industrial siting, regional trade flows and the competitiveness of multimodal logistics systems (AFC 2023; Railway Gazette 2024).
Mapping Rail Ambitions and Development Gaps
Geospatial analysis remains one of a railway project manager’s most strategic tools. It draws on technical assessments from advisors and owner’s engineers. Spatial data helps identify gaps in regional integration, areas of under-investment and corridors where targeted upgrades can deliver outsized economic returns (ALG 2023).
The Lobito Corridor illustrates this well. It offers an Atlantic-facing route from Angola through the DRC and Zambia. The corridor can shorten export lead times and provide an alternative to long-haul road movements (OECD 2025; UN 2024; Way S 2024).
Spatial assessments also reveal practical constraints. Limited feeder roads, last-mile industrial gaps and informal settlements often intersect potential rights-of-way. These early insights support feasibility work. They guide sequencing, risk management and land planning.
In urban settings, spatial analysis helps pinpoint the most acute mobility pressures. For MetroKin in Kinshasa, early corridor analysis highlighted congestion between central districts and the eastern axis around Ndjili Airport. These findings supported the selection of the Central Station–Ndjili alignment for Phase 1. They also informed decisions on station spacing, interchange points and service frequency (MetroKin SA 2025).
Project Management Capabilities in Frontier and Emerging Markets
In frontier markets, railway project management often requires coordination across a wider set of functions. Delivery environments feature fragmented institutions, variable data quality and regulatory processes that demand sustained engagement (Railway Gazette 2024).
High-performing teams integrate several core capabilities:
Oversee Technical Advisors & EPC Implementation
- Provide decision support on alignment selection and civil works interfaces
- Coordinate station planning and integration with power, signalling and rolling stock suppliers
PPP & Financing
- Assess structuring options that balance public and private risk appetites
- Support early financial modelling and the use of blended finance instruments when appropriate
Regulatory and safeguards management
- Navigating permitting processes and harmonising technical standards in cross-border settings
- Aligning preparation with IFC Performance Standards – the World Bank environmental and social requirements
Stakeholder and community engagement
- Support processes led by local authorities and implementing agencies
- Identify land, access and resettlement issues early to inform delivery planning
These capabilities help teams manage uncertainty. They also allow project managers to coordinate specialist inputs and guide decisions in environments where delivery risks are interdependent.
MetroKin: Case Study in Urban Railway Project Management
The MetroKin project is a planned 300 km multi-phase passenger rail network. It shows how railway project management operates in a dense and rapidly growing city. Kinshasa has 17.8 million people and added roughly 750 thousand new residents in the past year alone.
Phase 1 upgrades 25 km of an existing corridor between Central Station and Ndjili Airport. A joint venture between AFC, TCC and KRCL/Angelique International is delivering the project. The work focuses on modernising legacy infrastructure, expanding capacity and establishing a reliable mass transit spine (AFC 2024; Railway Gazette 2024).
In this context, railway project managers support several core workstreams:
Managing technical interfaces
- Support integration between legacy infrastructure and new systems
- Coordinate with engineering teams on stations, intermodal nodes and depot needs
Managing ESIA and RAP workstreams
- Coordinate with environmental and social specialists
- Sequence activities and support risk mitigation
Iterating Financial Model
- Updating the financial models with new pricings, tax advisory points and demand inputs
- Demand analysis shapes station spacing, phasing and operational assumptions
Supporting structured stakeholder engagement
- Work with local sponsors and municipal authorities
- Ensure issues raised by affected communities are reflected in delivery planning
- Review government support agreements and EPC and O&M contracts to ensure alignment with international practice
Tanzania SGR: Corridor and Regional Railway Project Management
Tanzania’s Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is a flagship regional project. It demonstrates how multi-stakeholder coordination can move a corridor from concept to delivery. The line will run from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza on Lake Victoria. Future links are planned to Rwanda, Burundi, the DRC and Uganda (Xinhua 2024).
Financing has been central to progress. In 2024, the African Development Bank partnered with Deutsche Bank and Société Générale to syndicate US$1.2 billion for the next construction phase (TanzaniaInvest 2024). This blend of public and private capital has supported the shift from planning to construction.
Delivery requires coordination across land access, safeguards and multiple government institutions. A planned extension into Burundi’s Musongati nickel region could move up to three million tons of ore annually. This highlights both freight potential and the corridor’s broader regional role (Bloomberg 2024).
The SGR’s phased build-out, financing structure and emerging links offer a practical reference point for large-scale rail delivery. For project managers, it shows how corridor design aligned with future freight flows can strengthen the investment case.
Transport Links and Investment Potential for Railway Projects
International examples show how strong rail links can shape investment patterns along major corridors. In Germany, high-capacity rail connections into the Rhine-Ruhr logistics region supported the development of Duisport, the world’s largest inland port. It now handles 4.3 million TEU per year and anchors one of Europe’s most active freight clusters (Port Technology 2022).
In China, firms connected to the high-speed rail network recorded an 8.5% drop in transport costs and a 4.5% rise in total factor productivity after new high-speed rail routes opened (Jin 2024). Japan’s Shinkansen network produced similar effects. Municipalities that gained a Shinkansen station saw 12–16% higher population and employment growth than comparable areas without a station (Hayakawa 2021).
When railway project management is technically robust and commercially grounded, investor confidence grows. Clear preparation and predictable sequencing reduce uncertainty. This enables institutional, DFI and private capital to invest at scale.
Similar opportunities are emerging along the Lobito Corridor. Improved capacity could unlock investment in mining services, agribusiness processing, logistics platforms and port-adjacent activity. Early prospects are taking shape in Benguela, Bie, Huambo and Moxico. These efforts support industrial clustering and new PPPs in logistics, energy and digital services.
As connectivity improves, these linkages strengthen the corridor’s role as a regional development spine. They attract domestic and international capital to underutilised but high-potential areas.
Lessons for Africa’s Next Generation of Railway Project Managers
MetroKin, the Lobito Corridor and Tanzania’s SGR highlight several lessons:
Structure enables momentum
- Project advisory teams establish frameworks that keep initiatives on track
- Clear project work schedules and early identification of risks reduce execution drift
Delivery models must be context-specific
- Urban systems require service design and strong safeguards
- Freight corridors rely on regulatory harmonisation, open access and cross-border alignment
Effective railway project managers bridge disciplines
- Combine engineering oversight with financial structuring, negotiation skills and political awareness
- Align technical teams, financiers and public authorities
Strengthening Railway Project Management Practice
GIA’s advisory experience reveals several recurring themes:
Early technical-commercial alignment
Right-of-way and land readiness
Early considerations for power requirements
Institutional capacity
Stakeholder alignment
Find out more about GIA’s experience across infrastructure and PPP advisory, project development strategy, and complex programme delivery across Africa and emerging markets.
Opportunity Ahead for Railway Project Management in Africa
Projects such as MetroKin, the Lobito Corridor and Tanzania’s SGR signal a shift towards more structured and regionally significant rail systems. As governments, DFIs and private investors expand passenger mobility and freight capacity, preparation and delivery quality will determine which initiatives advance.
Railway project managers link engineering, finance, safeguards and stakeholder processes into coherent delivery pathways. Their ability to integrate specialist workstreams at pace will be a major factor in whether Africa’s next generation of rail investments moves from concept to construction.
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References
- AFC (2023) Africa Finance Corporation to lead US-backed development of the Lobito Corridor and Zambia–Lobito Rail Line, news release, 26 October.
- Agence Congolaise de Presse (2025) ‘MetroKin in Kinshasa: the first phase plans to transport 520,000 people a day’, Agence Congolaise de Presse.
- ALG (2023) Vilardell, JM & Blay, LB, ‘Railway development in Africa: a positive impact on emission reduction’, 20 November, ALG.
- Atlantic Council (2024) Way, S, ‘What to know about the Lobito Corridor—and how it may change how minerals move’, Atlantic Council.
- China Railway. (2015). China-Railway.com
- European Commission (2023) Connecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, and Angola to Global Markets through the Lobito Corridor, International Partnerships, European Commission.
- Hayakawa K., Koster H.R.A., Tabuchi T., & Thisse J.-F. (2021) The impact of Shinkansen stations on regional economies.
- Jin M. (2024) Analysing firm-level impacts of high-speed railways on reducing business costs: Evidence from China. Cardiff University.
- Lobito Corridor Investment Promotion Authority (2024) The Lobito Corridor What It Is and Why It Matters.
- MetroKin SA (2025) Project Overview – MetroKin Mass Transit Railway Project, MetroKin SA.
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- Port Technology (2022) Container turnover at Duisport reaches record levels.
- UN (2024) ‘Potential Impact of the Lobito Corridor and Support to the Regional Transformation Agenda: Policy Brief.’
- Way S (2024) ‘What to know about the Lobito Corridor – and how it may change how minerals move’ Atlantic Council: AfricaSource.
- AfDB (2024) African Development Bank leads US$1.2 billion financing syndication for Tanzania’s Standard Gauge Railway Project, African Development Bank Group, 22 May.
- Railway Gazette (2024) ‘Alstom to support Kinshasa urban rail project’, Metro Report International, 3 June, Railway Gazette.
- Reuters (2024) Tanzania launches $3.1 billion railway in drive to boost infrastructure.
- Russian Railways. (2020). View archived website.
- Bloomberg (2025) Chinese Firms to Build $2 Billion Tanzanian Rail to Nickel Mine.
- TanzaniaInvest (2024) African Development Bank Leads US$ 1.2 Billion Financing for Tanzania’s Standard Gauge Railway.
- TanzaniaInvest (2024a) Tanzania Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).
- United States Department of Transportation. (2023). Transportation Statistics Annual Report 2023. ROSA P.
- WorldData.info. (2023). Transport and infrastructure in Africa.
