Zim looks for SA funding of new rail line

The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) is courting SA companies to fund the construction of a proposed Chiredzi-Mutare railway line to provide a cheaper and direct link between SA and Beira in Mozambique, reports Zimbabwean newspaper News Day. Currently, rail traffic from SA to Mozambique’s northern parts comes through Beitbridge to Harare before heading to Mutare, a distance of more than 1 000 kilometres. According to a business proposal seen by The Source, the project whose cost was not given, will link traffic from Beitbridge to Rutenga then to Chiredzi and subsequently Mutare, cutting the distance by more than half. The struggling parastatal has dispatched the proposal to different companies in Africa. Primarily, the railway line will transport agricultural produce from the Lowveld to the eastern border town and Mozambique. The Lowveld is home to the country’s largest sugar estates and milling companies who could benefit from the railway link. NRZ has tabled a number of ambitious proposals, among them the Harare-Chitungwiza urban commercial railway system estimated to cost about US$440 million dollars and the Kadoma-Sengwa link.