Botswana’s railway modernisation ambitions have suffered a fresh setback after Indian transport infrastructure company RITES Limited moved to close its wholly owned Botswana subsidiary, just nine months after signing an agreement with the government to pursue railway and transport infrastructure projects.
RITES’ board approved a proposal on Sept. 25, 2026, to initiate the closure of RITES (Afrika) Proprietary Limited, citing a lack of relevant business opportunities and limited growth prospects in Botswana.
The company said it will instead operate through a leaner representative office in South Africa.
The move comes after RITES and the Botswana government signed a Memorandum of Understanding in December 2025 to collaborate on railway and wider transport infrastructure development.
Under the agreement, Botswana was expected to draw on RITES’ expertise in rolling stock supply, railway commissioning, repair, operations and maintenance, workshop modernisation and other railway infrastructure projects.
The agreement also covered highways, bridges, airports and buildings, as well as technical training and technology systems for train operations and passenger management.
The rapid reversal raises questions about the depth of the commercial opportunities available to international infrastructure companies seeking to participate in Botswana’s planned transport expansion.
RITES, however, has not attributed the closure directly to Botswana’s broader economic conditions. Its stated reason is the lack of sufficient business opportunities and limited growth prospects in the country.
The company’s financial disclosures illustrate the limited scale of its Botswana operation.
RITES said the subsidiary generated annual turnover of ₹51.34 lakh, equivalent to about P0.51 crore, representing just 0.02 percent of the parent company’s turnover.
Its annual revenue stood at ₹58.77 lakh, also about 0.02 percent of consolidated revenue, while its net worth was ₹3.59 crore.
RITES’ Botswana subsidiary is also not a new operation. Company records show that RITES Afrika was incorporated in Botswana on January16, 1991, and has historically operated as its wholly owned overseas subsidiary for design and project consultancy services.
The closure therefore marks a retreat from a corporate structure that has been in place for more than three decades, even as RITES maintains that it will continue to pursue opportunities in the region from South Africa.
The development comes as Botswana faces pressure on government finances and investment amid weakness in the diamond sector and subdued economic activity.
RITES has not, however, linked those conditions to its decision to close the subsidiary.
When the MoU was signed in December, the two sides presented it as a platform for accelerating Botswana’s railway and wider transport infrastructure development. RITES said at the time that it would bring advanced technologies, global best practices and technical expertise to the country.
Nine months later, the company is dismantling its dedicated corporate presence in Botswana, leaving the government to pursue its railway modernisation ambitions without the local subsidiary that had been positioned as a potential partner in delivering them.
