The planned 1,617-kilometre railway line that will connect the port of Walvis Bay and Gaborone has got the potential of creating 40,000 jobs.

Botswana's President Duma Boko made this revelation in an interview with journalists in Gaborone following the 46th SADC Summit in Durban.

He described the Trans-Kalahari Railway line as one of the mega-projects taking shape within the region.

Boko said the development will result in many job-seeking individuals in both Namibia and Botswana being lifted from the margins of poverty and economic marginalisation.

“If you look at the economies of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, they are very unequal societies, and this inequality did not start yesterday. It has been entrenched for many years. Structurally, these economies have been built in a way that means the vast majority of people still live on the margins of the economy. That is a fact.”

The N$200 billion railway project aims to improve regional trade and economic development by providing a more efficient and cost-effective transportation route for goods exported from Botswana, Namibia and the rest of the SADC region.