ZIMBABWE: The government has approved the country’s accession to an international treaty which aims to make it easier and cheaper for the private sector to finance rolling stock.
The Luxembourg Rail Protocol to the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment provides an internationally recognised legal framework for securing creditors’ rights over rolling stock, with the aim of encouraging private sector financing, reducing financing costs and providing greater legal certainty for investors and operators.
Speaking at the SARA Rail conference in Johannesburg on October 20, Deputy Minister of Transport & Infrastructure Development Joshua Sacco confirmed that Zimbabwe’s accession to the protocol had been approved by parliament and the president, and the country is preparing to formally deposit its instrument of accession in Roma.
Sacco said this ’opens us many doors, many opportunities, de-risking investments in rail’.
Accessing new sources of capital
The Rail Working Group which works to facilitate the implementation of the protocol said accession could help Zimbabwe access new sources of capital to support the modernisation and expansion of its rail fleet, while contributing to stronger regional connectivity.
‘This is an exciting step forward for the rail sector’, said RWG Chair Howard Rosen. ‘Zimbabwe will be the third Southern African Development Community state to accede to the protocol and its accession will play an important role in encouraging other states in southern Africa to move forward with the protocol.’
Protocol progress
The European Union, DR Congo, Gabon, Luxembourg, Paraguay, South Africa, Spain and Sweden have so far ratified the protocol, while France, Germany, Switzerland, Mozambique, Italy and the UK have signed but not yet acceded.
RWG said many other states, including Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Kenya, Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia, Ethiopia and Mauritius, are actively looking at ratification.
- Subscribers can learn more about the importance of the Luxembourg Protocol in the November 2026 issue of Railway Gazette International
Source: rg
