Data recording the movement of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) shows that the Port of Beira is experiencing delays on the EN6 route to its Machipanda border crossing with Zimbabwe.
For the week ending September 14, cross-border figures measured in the Cargo Movement Update (CMU) by the Southern African Association of Freight Forwarders and Business Unity SA, shows that queueing time on the Beira Corridor was the highest of all – 16.6 hours on average.
Trucks stood for 4.5 hours on average when the various border crossings on the corridor operated most efficiently, while the median waiting time on the EN6 connecting the port with the Copperbelt was 16.3 hours.
About 320 trucks arrived per day, amounting to 2 240 for the week, representing 9 600 tonnes of daily cargo.
In July, following 10km queues to the port, Mozambique’s Minister of Transport and Logistics, João Matlombe, identified direct access to the port as a significant stumbling block to speeding up traffic flow.
He told 360 Mozambique that a solution to snail-traffic on Estrada Nacional 6, specifically faster port access, would be found before the end of the year.
Besides the port’s entrance he also said congestion at Machipanda was a problem.
“The issue of access to the Port of Beira significantly affects the quality of life in the city itself. So it’s not just a port issue – it’s a matter of how the city coexists with the port. At the moment we are working to find solutions for the construction of an access road.”
Regarding the corridor’s transit into Zimbabwe, Matlombe said: “The goal is to cut down waiting times at the border and make logistics services more efficient with less human intervention. The idea is to lower operational costs for logistics operators. That is the main objective of implementing single-stop border posts.”
Mozambique’s southern corridor from the Port of Maputo fared best of all six corridors measured by the CMU, with a queueing time of 3.3 hours, recording 2 992 trucks per day, representing daily tonnage of 89 760 and 20 944 weekly HGV arrivals.
The longest idling time for trucks on the Maputo Corridor into South Africa was 3.1 hours.
Mostly trucks passed through the border at Ressano Garcia (Moz) and Lebombo (SA) in under an hour.
The North-South Corridor to the Copperbelt handled the most daily AGV arrivals for the week – 3 557.
Queueing time was 31.2 hours on average with a median waiting time of 13 hours and a low of 1.7. A daily tonnage of 106 701 was handled with 24 899 HGV arrivals per day.
