Photo by: Duane Daws
Talks to implement the vision of a modern, integrated high-speed train service traversing and criss-crossing Africa’s capitals and commercial centres have kicked off, as the African Union Commission (AUC) marked it among three flagship projects the organisation hoped to see come to fruition under the African agenda for the next 50 years.
AUC chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on Thursday said discussions were under way to examine the opportunities and possibilities of developing a pan-African high-speed train service by 2063, by when the union hoped to have achieved 'The Africa We Want' targets set out under the African Union's Agenda 2063.
Speaking at the 2014 Mining Lekgotla, in Midrand, she indicated that, while details had not been cemented, the roll-out of the proposed project would be based on the model adapted by airline manufacturer Airbus, which sourced components from various countries in Europe.
Further, there were suggestions that the pan-African high-speed train service could be integrated with information and communication technologies, oil and gas pipelines and adjacent highways, as the agenda eyed the acceleration of connecting Africa and boosting intra-regional trade.
Dlamini-Zuma said there was a need to leapfrog staggered, stand-alone, “one-purpose” infrastructure developments.
While first-phase construction would require imported equipment, the medium- to longer-term view was to develop the capacity and skills to locally manufacture and produce the equipment needed.
The vision of a high-speed train service was one of three flagship programmes prioritised by the AUC’s African Agenda 2063. The others included establishing e-universities and completing the Inga hydropower project.