Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya,Beitbridge Bureau
The US$300 million transformed Beitbridge Border Post has become a pace setter in terms of infrastructure development in the region, a senior Government official has said.
Deputy Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Dr Omphile Marupi made the revelations during a media tour of high-impact projects being implemented by the Second Republic.
He said things had changed for the better at the Sadc region’s busiest inland ports of entry.
Dr Marupi said the border had become a model for other countries in the region who want to expand and mordenise their infrastructure.
Already, South Africa has set plans in motion to mordernise six of its land ports, including its side of Beitbridge.
The Beitbridge border post was done through a private-public partnership between Government and the Zimborders Consortium.
Zimborders Consortium General Manager Mr Nqobile Ncube said the volume of commercial traffic had started increasing monthly.
He said they are now clearing 46 percent of all commercial traffic arriving at the border within three hours.
“Before this project, trucks were spending up to 72 hours to pass through the border,” said Mr Ncube.
“We have the capacity to clear 1000 trucks daily and so far we processing over 900 and the figure is growing.
“In May we processed 27 300, June 27 900 and 28 800 in July. The premium of this border should be efficiencies because there is and added cost to the border users.
Therefore we cant afford to derail progress”.
He added that they had also hired 36 percent of their employees from the Beitbridge community.
