Zimbabwe looks into one-stop border at Plumtree

The Walvis Bay Corridor Group recently took its marketing message to Harare in Zimbabwe where the benefits of using the Port of Walvis Bay, in particular for imports and exports from Europe and America, were outlined. According to spokesperson Agnetha Mouton, significant growth has been experienced on the Walvis Bay Corridors for imports to Zimbabwe over the past 18 months, with consignments including frozen chicken, furniture, equipment, vehicles and other consumables. Minister of Industry and Commerce of Zimbabwe, Professor Welshman Ncube, said Zimbabwe was in the process of developing a dry port at the Port of Walvis Bay to facilitate the import and export of goods, especially to and from America and Europe. The project is being spearheaded by the Road Motor Service (RMS) of Zimbabwe in partnership with Namibia Ports Authority (Namport) and WBCG. “To further promote the use of the Walvis Bay Corridors, the Government of Zimbabwe is proposing the establishment of a one stop border post (OSBP) at the Plumtree Border Post between Zimbabwe and Botswana, with efforts already under way to engage Botswana on the issue,” he said. The OSBP concept had proved to be efficient, as was evident from developments at Chirundu OSBP between Zimbabwe and Zambia, he added.