Sizarail
Company type | Railway company |
---|---|
Founded | 1995 |
Defunct | 1997 |
Area served | Zaire |
Sizarail was a railway company formed by foreign investors that briefly operated the railway network in Zaire between 1996 and 1997. It took over from the state-owned operator in an attempt to revive the railway, which had virtually ceased to operate despite being a critical source of revenue from mineral exports. Operations quickly improved, and the company earned a small profit in the first year. However, advancing rebel forces closed it down and re-nationalized the railway.
Creation
In the 1990s the mining company Gécamines almost ceased to produce copper, while the state-owned SNCZ railway network ceased to function.[1] In 1995 prime minister Léon Kengo wa Dondo allowed foreign investment in some of the railway lines in an attempt to revive them.[2] Sizarail was formed in response. It was 51% owned by a joint venture between the state-owned South African company
Operations
Sizarail invested $6 million in repairs to the lines from Lubumbashi to Ilebo and from Kamina to Kalemie. It earned $66 million gross revenues in its first year, with an profit of $1 million.[2] Sizarail paid regular salaries to its staff, and journeys by rail took days rather than weeks.[5] It reopened the lines to southern Africa for export of Zaire's minerals, key to the economy of the country.[3]
Closure
In 1997 the
Sizarail was dissolved in 1997 and all operations were taken over by the Société nationale des chemins de fer du Congo (SNCC).[6] On 1 April 1998 it was reported that the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo had begun to repay a debt of R136m owed to
See also
Citations
- ^ Pourtier 2021, p. 20.
- ^ a b c d Bobb 2010, p. 450.
- ^ a b c d e Zaire Rlys Halted 1997.
- ^ Comazar ... MBendi.
- ^ a b Heale 1998, p. 54.
- ^ N'Lemvo Dedengity 2008.
- ^ Sizarail seizure settled 1998.
Sources
- Bobb, F. Scott (2010), "Railways" (PDF), Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (3 ed.), Scarecrow Press, ISBN 978-0-8108-6325-5, retrieved 2021-03-31
- Comazar, MBendi, archived from the original on 2007-03-11, retrieved 2021-04-01
- Heale, Jay (October 1998), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Marshall Cavendish, ISBN 978-0-7614-0874-1, retrieved 2021-04-01
- N'Lemvo Dedengity, Alain Riche (2008), "Historique de la S.N.C.C.", La problématique de l'audit interne dans la gestion des entreprises publiques en République Démocratique du Congo: Cas de « LA SOCIETE NATIONALE DE CHEMINS DE FER DU CONGO (thesis), Institut supérieur du commerce, retrieved 2021-03-30
- Pourtier, Roland (2021), "Railroads in Subsaharan Africa, between past days and uncertain reconstructions", Belgian Journal of Geography (1): 189–202, , retrieved 2021-03-30
- "Sizarail seizure settled", Railway Gazette, 1 April 1998, retrieved 2021-04-01
- "Zaire Rlys Halted", Business Standard, 8 May 1997, retrieved 2021-04-01