Beira spells out benefits for Zimbabwe shippers

Zimbabwe’s nearest port – Beira – is on a regional marketing drive. Cornelder de Mozambique (CdM), which has the concession to manage the port of Beira, is working hard at convincing exporters and importers based in neighbouring countries to change any preconceptions they may have about the harbour and its operations. “Beira is no longer a mere feeder port, but is well integrated into the southern and east African shipping networks. There are regular scheduled direct calls from the world’s largest shipping lines,” says CdM director: commercial, Miguel de Jenga. As part of its marketing efforts CdM is working with the shipping lines, as well as local transport and forwarding companies to compile case studies which demonstrate the benefits of using Beira for exports and imports from Zimbabwe and the Zambian and Democratic Republic of Congo Copperbelts. De Jenga believes that the studies will provide strong motivation for using Beira. The road link between Beira and Ndola on the Zambian Copperbelt is around 1 360 kilometres, and the road is mostly in good condition. The route includes the 500-kilometre HarareBeira link. Safety concerns have been addressed, and there have been no reported attacks on vehicles for a number of months. A new four-way highway is under construction between Beira and the Zimbabwe border at Mutare. A new truck entrance into the container facility will speed up turnaround times. Road is complemented by a functioning rail service. The line is part of an historical link running between Beira on the eastern seaboard and Lobito to the west. CFM (the state rail utility) has committed to placing new locomotives and wagons on the route to reduce transit times and to increase capacity, he says. There will be 100 dedicated grain wagons to handle imports and exports through the Beira grain terminal. De Jenga says capacity constraints are a thing of the past, as the port can currently handle around 400 000 TEUs a year, and this is being increased through additional investment.