Comazar
Encyclopedia
Comazar is a company that operates railways in Africa
. Its stock is majority owned by the French investment group Bolloré
.
Comazar was founded by Eric Peiffer and Patrick Claes in conjunction with Transnet (Spoornet
) and Transurb Consult (a Belgian Railways subsidiary) in 1995.
The headquarters are in Johannesburg
.
Comazar is also a ten percent partner in the Rift Valley Railways Consortium
.
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. Its stock is majority owned by the French investment group Bolloré
Bolloré
Bolloré is a French investment and industrial holding group headquartered in Puteaux, on the western outskirts of Paris, France. The company, a paper-energy-plantations-logistics conglomerate, employs 28,000 people around the world....
.
Comazar was founded by Eric Peiffer and Patrick Claes in conjunction with Transnet (Spoornet
Spoornet
Transnet Freight Rail is a South African rail transport company, formerly known as Spoornet. It was part of 'South African Railways and Harbours', a state-controlled organisation that employed hundreds of thousands of people for decades from the first half of the 20th century and was widely...
) and Transurb Consult (a Belgian Railways subsidiary) in 1995.
The headquarters are in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
.
Related organizations
Comazar owns stock in and operates the following privately held railways:- CamrailCamrailCamrail is a company that has been granted a 20 year concession to operate the Cameroon National Railway. This Cameroonian company is a subsidiary of French investment group Bolloré. The railway has been operated by Comazar, a subsidiary of Bolloré, since 1999...
- CameroonCameroonCameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the... - MadarailMadarailThe government of Madagascar has granted Madarail a 25 year concession to operate the northern of the two national rail lines. The company is investing heavily in Madagascar's rail system...
- MadagascarMadagascarThe Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa... - Sitarail Railways - Côte d'IvoireCôte d'IvoireThe Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
and Burkina FasoBurkina FasoBurkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated... - Ethiopian RailwaysTransport in EthiopiaTransportation infrastructure in Ethiopia has been neglected for decades, but is now a priority of the government of Ethiopia. Most of the roads and railways are now under construction, and will be completed between 2011 and 2014...
- 25 year concession from 2006
Comazar is also a ten percent partner in the Rift Valley Railways Consortium
Rift Valley Railways Consortium
The Rift Valley Railways Consortium is a consortium that was established to manage the parastatal railways of Kenya and Uganda. The consortium won the bid for private management of the century-old Kenya-Uganda railway in 2005.-History:...
.
Previous concessions
In addition, the company has operated railways in these countries in the past:- Sizarail - Democratic Republic of the CongoDemocratic Republic of the CongoThe Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
- The company obtained a 5-year mandate, starting in 1996, to run the country's rail. Comazar started a commuter rail service in LubumbashiLubumbashiLubumbashi is the second largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, second only to the nation's capital Kinshasa, and the hub of the southeastern part of the country. The copper-mining city serves as the capital of the relatively prosperous Katanga Province, lying near the Zambian border...
that carried 2 mm passengers per year. Ridership had more than doubled in 2 years of operation, but the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo cancelled the company's management mandate and confiscated all assets in 1997. - Trans Africa Railway Corporation Tanzania Ltd (TARC) - TanzaniaTanzaniaThe United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
- the company withdrew from its participation in this project in 2002, after 4 years of work. See Tanzania Railways CorporationTanzania Railways CorporationThe Tanzania Railways Corporation ' is a state-owned enterprise that runs one of Tanzania's two main railway networks.When the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation was dissolved in 1977 and its assets divided between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, TRC was formed to take over EARH's railway,...
, currently operated by Rites Consortium of IndiaRITES Ltd.RITES Limited is an engineering consultancy company, specializing in the field of transport infrastructure. Established in 1974 by the Government of India, the company's initial charter was to provide consultancy services in rail transport management to operators in India and abroad...
.