en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Zimbabwean government, through the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA), has approved a $3 billion Harare light rail plan and granted it "National Project Status," aiming to reconnect the Greater Harare area by rail. This status will provide the project with key advantages such as accelerated investment facilitation, government coordination support, and streamlined regulatory approvals, helping to drive project financing and avoid planning stagnation.
The project adopts a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, with major investors raising approximately $5 million for the preparatory phase and expecting support from the African Development Bank. These funds will be used for foundational work including feasibility studies, detailed engineering design, and environmental and social impact assessments, laying the groundwork for subsequent large-scale financing. Engineer Samuel Nyabeza, Acting Director of Urban Planning for the Harare City Council, stated that the project has been approved by ZIDA and will be advanced through collaboration between the government, local authorities, and the private sector.
The light rail network will be built in five phases. The first phase, valued at $1 billion, will construct a rail corridor between the central business district and the western high-density suburb of Kuwadzana, including elevated sections, battery and solar-powered trains, passenger stations, and a main maintenance depot. Subsequent phases plan to extend the railway to Highfield and Chitungwiza, connect the eastern Mabvuku-Tafara area, link Cranborne with Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, and connect Kuwadzana with the new city of Mt Hampden.
Harare's technical choice of battery and solar-powered trains aims to reduce reliance on overhead catenary wires and grid reliability, minimizing land acquisition issues along busy routes. This approach shifts maintenance focus to energy storage and charging systems, requiring robust depot capabilities and spare parts supply. The design positions the light rail as a high-capacity backbone of an integrated transport network, with buses serving as feeder services to facilitate passenger transfers between railway stations. The government has already procured over 200 buses to build a unified road and rail system.
The light rail plan is a core component of Harare's urban renewal strategy targeting the 2029 Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF). Beyond the railway, the plan includes constructing a new conference center at Robert Mugabe Square capable of accommodating 8,000 to 15,000 delegates, redeveloping exhibition grounds, and attracting private capital into sectors such as hotels and retail. Harare currently faces a shortage of approximately 11,000 hotel rooms, while the 2029 trade fair is expected to attract over 2,100 exhibitors and far more than 100,000 international delegates. Mayor Jacob Mafume stated that hosting the fair requires at least 27,000 rooms, which will drive sustained construction of hotels and supporting infrastructure.
The Harare light rail project enters an African urban rail market that has regained momentum after decades of sparse investment. Addis Ababa opened sub-Saharan Africa's first modern light rail in 2015, while cities such as Casablanca and Rabat in Morocco also have large-scale tram networks. Harare's PPP model and multilateral development bank support provide a more sustainable long-term foundation than some earlier projects reliant on single-source financing. The project's near-term test lies in whether the first phase can attract reliable investment and achieve financial close based on preparatory studies.
