GARETH COSTA
SOME MAY view it as the calm before the storm,
but at the very least the finally completed 12km
stretch of road leading up to Beitbridge, our
northern-most border post, will provide a chance to
catch one’s breath before the big push north.
“The road has, to all intents and purposes,
been completed. The civil engineering is done, the
drainage is complete, Armco barriers are in place,
the line-painting has been finished and ‘cats' eyes’
have been implanted by the hundreds. There are
also two lengthy three lane stretches allowing safe
overtaking,” says Brian Kalshoven, MD of Messinabased
Beitbridge Border Clearing Agency who has
closely watched the road’s progress for the past 18
months.
“Now it has to be paid for and kept in
good condition. Work continues apace on the
weighbridge/ vehicle check station a kilometre from
the border. There are rumours of a road levy similar
to that charged in Zambia and Zimbabwe being
charged on commercial traffic. Monitoring the mass
of axle loads and adjusting loads according to the
requirements of legislation will assist in preventing
damage to the road itself,” says Kalshoven.
“There is no doubt that now that the
inconvenience and delays caused by the road works
are over, the route will resume its place as the first
choice for freight moving both into and out of
Africa. Commissioning of the weighbridge will also
mean increased calls on our 3 ton forklift stationed
at Beitbridge, for load adjustments,” says Kalshoven.
Anticipating a surge in the utilisation of this,
the most direct route to the north, sales teams
from Linked Logistics, of which BBCA is a part, have
been furiously marketing this major route to and
from central Africa over the past few months. With
offices in Johannesburg, both sides of Beitbridge
and the major cities of Zimbabwe, Linked Logistics
believes it is well placed to look after customers’
needs in Customs clearing, consolidation of loads,
and monitoring and status reporting of freight
movements.
