SEZ to boost Maputo corridor business

Opportunities for adding value to freight moving along the Maputo Corridor will be created by the development of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the Nkomazi District Municipality. Logistics services, agroprocessing and agro-related industries will be housed in the SEZ. “The proximity to markets for both imports and exports, the availability of raw materials and the available resources are important for this project,” says Barbara Mommen, chief executive of the Maputo Corridor Logistics Initiative (MCLI). “In addition, the SEZ will benefit from the existing excellent corridor infrastructure, and particularly from the proximity to the port of Maputo,” she says. A successful SEZ will depend on the free f low of cargo. “MCLI will continue to focus on the bottlenecks on the corridor. We will continue to lobby for a 24-hour operation on the corridor which has been our mantra for the past 10 years. “Without this, we continue to limit the growth potential and particularly the efficiency of the many supply chains on the corridor “Obviously our first prize would be a 24-hour One Stop Border Post, and this pressing necessity will continue to be our focus,” says Mommen. “The most immediate challenges for the corridor include the impact of the current road works on the movement of vehicles on the N4, particularly on the stretch of road between Moamba and Matola. “However, TRAC and its contractors are working hard to complete this important improvement during the first quarter of 2015,” she says. “In the longer term, we will be looking at the ability of current infrastructure to handle the growing volumes on the corridor, and we are particularly keen to work with TFR on their road to rail strategy on our corridor,” she adds. INSERT & CAPTION We will continue to lobby for a 24-hour operation on the corridor which has been our mantra for the past 10 years. – Barbara Mommen