The Djibouti Cosmodrome and Indian investment in rail transport

Djibouti, with a population of just over one million, will be home to a spaceport comprising seven satellite launchers and three rocket test sites. It will be the first-of-its-kind facility on the mainland. The country’s authorities have signed an initial partnership agreement for a billion-dollar investment with Hong Kong Aerospace Technology Group Limited. Africa’s space and satellite industry is thriving, with its value rising to more than $19.6 billion in 2022. Fourteen countries, of which South Africa, Egypt, Algeria and Nigeria are the most active, have already launched 52 satellites into space.

German Siemens AG has received the most significant order in its history for supplying locomotives from Indian Railways. The contract is for purchasing 1,200 electric freight locomotives over 11 years and their repair and maintenance for 35 years. The contract is worth €3 billion, and most of the work will be done at Siemens’ India facilities. More recently, Siemens signed a contract with Egypt worth around €8bn to build an electric rail network and supply a fleet of locomotives.

Lebanon’s interim government has approved opening lines of credit worth $116m to repair the state electricity networks. Lebanon has been struggling with power cuts that have paralysed public life and the country’s economy for more than two years – households now receive electricity from state sources for about an hour a day, and millions of residents rely on expensive private generator suppliers to supply their homes with electricity.