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Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
The United Kingdom (UK) Ambassador to Zimbabwe Peter Vowles has said he is impressed by the new-look Beitbridge Border Post which was recently transformed by Government in a private-public-partnership with the Zimborders Consortium.
The project, which cost US$300 million has started bearing fruits, reducing the turnaround time for cargo clearance and the movement of human traffic.
Long delays, which resulted in cargo and people spending between three to seven days had become synonymous with the country’s busiest port of entry in the last decade.
Ambassador Vowles said on his X (Twitter) account that the project was seriously impressive and was proof of the power of public-private-partnerships, led by Zimborders
“Spent the morning at Beitbridge border to see how UK investment through the Private Infrastructure Development Group (@PIDGorg) has reduced processing times, speeding up regional trade & transforming the town. It’s seriously impressive & proof of the power of public-private partnerships, led by Zimborders,” said the Ambassador.
Ambassador Vowles visited Beitbridge district on Thursday to attend the World Children’s Day commemorations held at Malala Primary School where Vice President Constantino Chiwenga led the proceedings.
After the Malala event, Vice President Chiwenga went on to switch the blue lights at the new-look border post in line with the World Children’s Day commemorations tradition.
Government, through a public-private partnership with the Zimborders Consortium, has completed upgrading the border post.
Under the new set-up, the port of entry now has three terminals, a new road and ICT facilities dedicated to cargo, buses and light vehicle traffic.
In addition, there are five major out-of-port facilities which include the construction of an animal plant and quarantine, a new fire station, an 11, 4 mega litres water reservoir, 220 housing units for border agencies and the construction of a new sewer oxidation dam.
Previously, all these would be cleared in one hall which was not enough to accommodate 15 000 travellers, 1200 trucks, 200 buses, and 3000 light vehicles that pass through daily.
According to Zimborders, the average time for trucks transiting has been reduced from several days to an average of less than three hours since the completion of the civil works.
The average time for trucks would be even less if all the border users follow the set operational procedures which include pre-clearing cargo and making sure that they bring the correct documents to border agencies.
Government provided the land and technical knowledge, while the Zimborders Consortium provided funding for the projects with the support of regional and international financial institutions.
The consortium is now managing and maintaining the infrastructure at the complete border as part of the 17-and-a-half-year build, operate and transfer agreement.
Online Reporter