NLPI Limited is an investment-holding company, registered in Mauritius

Mauritius

Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

, whose main investment focus is infrastructure

Infrastructure

Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...

-related projects on the continent of Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. The Nedbank

Nedbank

Nedbank is one of the largest banks in South Africa; however it is one of the newest banks to be incorporated in South Africa. It is headquartered in Johannesburg...

, Old Mutual

Old Mutual

Old Mutual plc is an international long-term savings group. Established in 1845 in South Africa, it is now a FTSE100 listed company operating in 33 countries.-History:...

 and Sanlam

Sanlam

Sanlam Limited is a financial services group in South Africa with its head office in Bellville in the Western Cape. Established in 1918, the Group demutualised in 1998 and Sanlam Limited then listed on the JSE Limited in Johannesburg and the Namibian Stock Exchange. The Sanlam Group conducts its...

 Groups, all major South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

n financial institution

Financial institution

In financial economics, a financial institution is an institution that provides financial services for its clients or members. Probably the most important financial service provided by financial institutions is acting as financial intermediaries...

s, are partnered by the shareholder

Shareholder

A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders own the stock, but not the corporation itself ....

s of NLPI, together with New Limpopo Bridge Projects Limited (NLP), an investment company controlled by Mr. Mordechai Tager and Mr. Zion Elani, both entrepreneur

Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...

s with extensive project development experience. With a cumulative market capitalization

Market capitalization

Market capitalization is a measurement of the value of the ownership interest that shareholders hold in a business enterprise. It is equal to the share price times the number of shares outstanding of a publicly traded company...

 exceeding US$15 billion, all NLPI shareholders are experienced in financial engineering, management, implementation and operation of infrastructure-related projects.

History

The need for private sector participation on infrastructure projects in Southern Africa was identified in 1993, by Mr. Mordechai Tager and Mr. Zion Elani. This ultimately resulted in the commissioning of NLPI’s first Build-operate-transfer

Build-Operate-Transfer

Build-own-operate-transfer or build-operate-transfer is a form of project financing, wherein a private entity receives a concession from the private or public sector to finance, design, construct, and operate a facility stated in the concession contract...

 (B.O.T.) project, the New Limpopo Bridge, operating under its subsidiary company namely, New Limpopo Bridge (Pvt) Ltd

New Limpopo Bridge Ltd

New Limpopo Bridge Ltd., is a private company, incorporated and registered in Zimbabwe, and is a subsidiary of NLPI Ltd, an investment holding company, whose main investment focus is infrastructure-related projects on the continent of Africa.-History:...

.

Railways

NLPI has already invested US$130 million in the construction and rehabilitation of a 1,613 kilometre rail corridor stretching from South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, through Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

 and Zambia

Zambia

Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....

, up to the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

 (DRC). The Corridor is the main hub for southbound raw materials hauled from the developing countries to South Africa and finished products railed northbound. It is the most important rail link connecting SADC (Southern African Development Community

Southern African Development Community

The Southern African Development Community is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security cooperation among 15 southern African states...

) members to regional ports and serves as a lifeline to the economies of the region. NLPI's control of the entire Corridor creates a unique opportunity for efficient rail operation with uninterrupted seamless service to a vast clientele.

Rail projects

The Corridor was created by the implementation of three rail projects, each owned and operated by a different subsidiary company.

Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway
Implemented in Zimbabwe on a B.O.T. basis by Beitbridge-Bulawayo Railway (Pvt) Ltd (BBR)

Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway

The Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway is a privately owned railway company that provides a rail link in Zimbabwe between Beitbridge at the border to South Africa and Zimbabwe's second city Bulawayo....

, the US$85 million, 350 kilometres (217.5 mi) railway line from Beitbridge

Beitbridge

Beitbridge or Mzingwane is a border town in the province of Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. The name also refers to the border post and bridge spanning the Limpopo River, which forms the political border between South Africa and Zimbabwe.-Background:...

 to Bulawayo

Bulawayo

Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland...

, once only a dream and now a reality, was commissioned on the 1 September 1999. It was built in record time, with the construction phase lasting only 18 months.

Zambia Concession
Implemented by Railway Systems of Zambia Limited (RSZ), the Zambia Concession, stretching almost 1200 kilometres (745.6 mi), covers the entire area between Sakania

Sakania

Sakania is a town in Haut-Katanga District, in the far south of the Democratic Republic of Congo, near the border with Zambia.It is located at an elevation of 1278m asl ,therefore it has a cool climate....

 (on the DRC border) and Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls

The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya is a waterfall located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe.-Introduction:...

, including the Copperbelt and other branch lines. NLPI participated in a World Bank

World Bank

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...

 tender for the Zambia Railways Concession and was declared the winner with the signing of the Freight and Passenger Concession Agreements in February and August 2003 respectively.

Zimbabwe North Line
Completing the whole Corridor, the third project was implemented in February 2004 by NLPI Logistics (NLPI-L or NLL), a rail logistics services provider. NLPI Logistics has acquired marketing rights for Zimbabwe's North Line, the 470 kilometres (292 mi) section between Beitbridge and Victoria Falls.

Rail operation

NLPI is one of the largest private rail operators in Africa, with a private fleet of rolling stock consisting of more than 4,500 wagons of different types as well as more than 100 locomotives. It employs more than 3,000 people along the Corridor, both directly and indirectly. They are top calibre, highly skilled, personnel from the region, together with international staff.

Bridges

NLPI's shareholders are also involved with an US$18 million investment in New Limpopo Bridge (Pvt) Ltd (NLB), an NLPI affiliated company, which under a B.O.T. concession agreement constructed and presently operates a toll bridge over the Limpopo River

Limpopo River

The Limpopo River rises in central southern Africa, and flows generally eastwards to the Indian Ocean. It is around long, with a drainage basin in size. Its mean annual discharge is 170 m³/s at its mouth...

. This state of the art bridge, commissioned by the Presidents of South Africa and Zimbabwe in 1995, provides an essential modern link between South Africa and Zimbabwe.

NLPI projects, and the regional implementation of the B.O.T. concept, are considered milestones in private sector involvement in promoting and developing infrastructure-related projects in the SADC region.