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Mnangagwa's cabinet approves construction of Beira railway line

by Staff reporter
04 Apr 2019 at 06:16hrs | Views
CABINET on Tuesday approved the proposal for the construction of a railway line and wharf at Beira port to facilitate the transportation of minerals. This follows the country's endeavour to create a cobweb of railway lines to move freight and passengers to many places at ease.

At the same time with Zimbabwe being landlocked — Beira is the shortest gateway to the sea for both imports and exports for the southern country.

Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa said Balmoral Corporation Investments has been given the green light to undertake the construction of the railway line.

"Following a presentation by the transport minister and Infrastructure Development Cabinet approved in principle the proposal for Balmoral Corporation investments to undertake the construction of a railway line and a port at Beira on a built, operate and transfer basis in order to facilitate the transportation of minerals", Mutsvangwa said.

At least 70 percent of Zimbabwe's exports reportedly go through South Africa. However, the distance between Harare and Beira is only 559km, while the distance between Harare and Durban is pegged at 1 683km.

The full utilisation of the Beira corridor will inevitably decongest the Beitbridge border post and Durban port at the same time decreasing both import and export costs for Zimbabwe.

Source - dailynews