Nearly a dozen countries in the African continent that rely on cape gauge railway locomotives offer a business opportunity to state-owned RITES Ltd that specialises in building locomotives including the desired ones.
Cape gauge locomotives are narrower than the standard gauge ones and were first introduced in South Africa.
“We got this order for cape gauge through a bidding process and there are about 12 countries neighbouring Mozambique which use this unique gauge.
We have developed designs for locomotives, wagons etc. Therefore we see a huge opportunity here in terms of rolling stock,” Rahul Mithal RITES CMD said.
Africa makes for a lucrative market for the company as it has already established a foothold in the continent by bagging a few contracts.
In December 2023, RITES Ltd signed a pact with CFM Mozambique for the supply of diesel locomotives and incidental services at a total cost of USD 37,680,080 (Rs 314.1 crore). The pact is for the supply of ten diesel locomotives.
As far as the consultancy services are concerned, the company has a subsidiary RITES Africa headquartered in Botswana, which is doing a consultancy assignment.
“We see a lot of consultancy project opportunities opening up in the African continent,” Mithal said, adding that RITES has done a lot of work in the past in the project consultancy and rolling stock businesses in Africa and will continue to look for more opportunities in the future as well.
Besides this RITES Ltd has an international arm RITES Videsh that scouts for business opportunities worldwide.
In March 2024, RITES Ltd opened a Branch office in Abu Dhabi, UAE to tap on the varied business opportunities available in UAE and nearby countries.
An intergovernmental framework agreement was signed between India and UAE for the IMEC corridor.
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which will connect India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and Europe, is seen as a crucial alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a multi-country infrastructure project.
RITES has also signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Abu Dhabi Ports to explore all business opportunities in UAE etc.
