- NLPI
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NLPI Limited (NLPI) is an investment-holding company, registered in Mauritius, whose main investment focus is infrastructure-related projects on the continent of Africa. The Nedbank, Old Mutual and Sanlam Groups, all major South African financial institutions, are partnered by the shareholders of NLPI, together with New Limpopo Bridge Projects Limited (NLP), an investment company controlled by Mr. Mordechai Tager and Mr. Zion Elani, both entrepreneurs with extensive project development experience. With a cumulative market capitalization exceeding US$15 billion, all NLPI shareholders are experienced in financial engineering, management, implementation and operation of infrastructure-related projects.
Contents
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 (B.O.T.) project, the New Limpopo Bridge, operating under its subsidiary company namely, New Limpopo Bridge (Pvt) Ltd.
Railways
NLPI has already invested US$130 million in the construction and rehabilitation of a 1,613 kilometre rail corridor stretching from South Africa, through Zimbabwe and Zambia, up to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (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) 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), the US$85 million, 350-kilometre (220 mi) railway line from Beitbridge to Bulawayo, 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 1,200 kilometres (750 mi), covers the entire area between Sakania (on the DRC border) and Victoria Falls, including the Copperbelt and other branch lines. NLPI participated in a World Bank 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),[1] a rail logistics services provider. NLPI Logistics has acquired marketing rights for Zimbabwe's North Line, the 470-kilometre (290 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. 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.
References
External links
Categories:- Companies of Mauritius
- Build-Operate-Transfer
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