Zimbabwe's State-owned railway company is negotiating a $115-million facility with Afreximbank to buy locomotives and wagons and expand haulage capacity, an official said Thursday.

The National Railways of Zimbabwe, which now operates under the country's sovereign wealth fund Mutapa Investments, is seeking funds for 10 locomotives and 315 wagons, Mutapa CEO John Mangudya said. The money would also repair parts of NRZ's railway infrastructure.

Mangudya spoke at NRZ's Harare Station on Thursday, 17 September 2026, as the company commissioned three locomotives and 100 high-sided wagons refurbished under a US$2.8-million public-private partnership with Zimasco, Sinosteel's Zimbabwean ferrochrome unit. Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona presided over the ceremony.

Mangudya said Mutapa's oversight has focused on commercial performance since NRZ was transferred to the fund.

"Following the strategic transfer of NRZ into the Mutapa Investment Fund, our oversight model has focused on performance, commercial viability and wealth creation. Mutapa has also facilitated the leasing of four Sheltam locomotives to relieve immediate traction constraints, while planning to add further capacity as freight business grows," Mangudya said.

He added that the combined investments would strengthen the railway's operations. "Collectively, these investments will improve locomotive and wagon availability, enhance network reliability and increase freight capacity," he said.

NRZ has struggled for years due to under-investment by the government. Freight volumes have collapsed from a peak of 12-million tons in the 1990s to two-million tons in 2025. The company requires a $600-million investment to upgrade its rolling stock and network, Mangudya said.

The railway has stepped up collaborations with private logistics firms to boost volumes. On 21 July 2026, NRZ said it was hauling lithium concentrate to Maputo port in Mozambique by rail in partnership with Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway, a unit of South Africa's Grindrod, and Zimbabwean logistics firm Silvergill. The first 1,000 metric tons moved from Tsingshan Holding Group's Gwanda Lithium Mine along a route of approximately 1,000 kilometres.

The Afreximbank facility remains under negotiation. No signing date or decision timeline has been announced.