Online Reporter
Cletus Mushanawani in BEIRA, Mozambique
ZIMBABWE’S march towards Vision 2030 continues to gather pace, with two strategic infrastructure projects — the expansion of the Beira Oil Terminal and the upgrading of Forbes Border Post — set to unlock new economic opportunities, boost regional trade and strengthen the country’s industrialisation agenda.
The multi-million-dollar projects are expected to enhance energy security, improve trade efficiency and cement Zimbabwe’s position as a key logistics hub within the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
At the heart of this transformation is Forbes Border Post, which has evolved from a gateway, primarily serving tourists travelling between Zimbabwe and Mozambique into one of the region’s busiest trade corridors.
Today, the border post handles an average of 1 250 trucks daily, underscoring its growing importance as a critical artery for regional commerce and the movement of goods across Southern Africa.
Work has already begun on the expansion of the Beira Oil Terminal in Mozambique, a project being spearheaded by Mozambique Ports and Railways (CFM).
Once complete, the facility’s fuel-handling capacity is expected to increase from five million tonnes to seven million tonnes annually, providing a major boost to fuel supply chains that support Zimbabwe and neighbouring countries.
The expansion programme includes the installation of two new 16-inch pipelines and the acquisition of two modern loading arms, dedicated to diesel and petrol respectively, to improve operational efficiency and increase throughput.
The development comes at a time when fuel volumes handled through the Port of Beira continue to rise year after year, reflecting growing demand across the region and the strategic importance of the Beira Corridor.
Economic analysts say the twin projects will have a far-reaching impact, reducing logistical bottlenecks, lowering transport costs and improving the ease of doing business — key pillars in Zimbabwe’s drive to achieve upper-middle-income status by 2030.
With trade volumes surging and energy infrastructure being expanded, the upgrades are expected to accelerate industrial growth, enhance regional connectivity and reinforce Zimbabwe’s economic integration with its neighbours.
From the 1 855 897 tonnes of fuel which CFM handled by June this year, 1 304 772 tonnes were transported to Zimbabwe, translating to 70 percent of the fuel cargo.
In 2021, facilitated CFM handled the transportation of 1 264 343 tonnes of fuel to Zimbabwe, 1 507 655 tonnes (2022), 1 632 744 tonnes (2023), 1 901 371 tonnes (2024) and 2 390 001 tonnes (2025).
The Zimbabwe fuel supplies dwarfed that of its neighbours, Zambia, Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana and the host country, Mozambique.
According to statistics availed by CFM, it handled 653 048 tonnes of fuel for Zambia in 2012, 797 121 tonnes (2022), 508 716 tonnes (2023), 524 995 tonnes (2024), 334 402 tonnes (2025) and 137 657 tonnes (as of June 2026) and Malawi- 200 486 tonnes (2021), 147 033 tonnes (2022), 157 276 tonnes (2023), 156 662 tonnes (2024), 124 737 tonnes (2025) and 39 819 tonnes (as of June 2026).
For DRC, CFM handled 211 837 tonnes in 2021, 320 900 tonnes (2022), 296 940 tonnes (2023), 384 639 tonnes (2024), 336 043 tonnes (2025) and 148 278 tonnes (as of June 2026) and Botswana 16 207 tonnes in 2021, which significantly went down to 297 tonnes and 69 tonnes for 2022 and 2024 respectively. The figure jumped up to 3 066 tonnes in 2024, and nothing was handled by CFM for 2025 and 2026 respectively.
For Mozambique, CFM handled 557 922 tonnes of fuel in 2021, 697 846 tonnes (2022), 435 098 tonnes (2023), 506 125 tonnes (2024), 576 449 tonnes (2025) and 225 372 tonnes as of June this year.
In an interview during a tour of CFM Oil Terminal Project on Wednesday, the company’s chief of service, Mr Lucas Vidigal, said they are working on a new project to reduce the number of days that vessels spend on the dock from an average of six days to a day or one and half days respectively.
“In the past, vessels were taking too long to be offloaded, but we have embarked on a new project to address this. Vessels are now staying on the dock for an average of three days, so we are working hard on another project to increase our offloading capacity. The project involves the installation of two new lines of 16-inch and two loading hubs with 2 000-cubic metres capacity each.
“With this project, we will reduce the vessels’ stay from three days to a day or one and half days. We expect to finish the project next year so that we can off-load more vessels. On average, we are doing 12 vessels per month, but with this project we are expecting to offload 15 vessels a month,” said Mr Vidigal.
Zimbabwe’s Consul General in Beira, Mr Malvern Bere, said plans extend beyond the fuel terminal expansion, with efforts also underway to push for the enlargement of the cargo handling terminal to accommodate growing trade volumes and enhance the efficiency of the Beira Corridor.
“We have urged the authorities to extend the expansion programme to the cargo terminal, and they have assured us that work will commence in the near future. The proposed project is expected to take about three years to complete.
“On the fuel side, we engaged them after learning that vessels were facing delays of up to 160 days before offloading. Following Zimbabwe’s intervention, measures were put in place to address the bottlenecks, and turnaround times have since been reduced to between three and six days.
“We are hopeful that a similar approach will be adopted for the cargo terminal. Virtually all fuel destined for Zimbabwe passes through the Port of Beira, making it critical that the expansion project is expedited to meet growing demand and support economic activity.”
Mr Bere said executives from Mozambique Ports and Railways (CFM) were impressed by Zimbabwe’s rapid economic and infrastructure development, prompting them to move ahead with plans to expand the fuel terminal.
“When CFM executives visited Zimbabwe, they witnessed first-hand the pace at which the country is developing. They are now positioning themselves to support the anticipated growth of the Zimbabwean economy through this expansion project.
“As the economy grows, demand for fuel will inevitably increase. Adequate fuel supplies are essential to sustaining industrialisation, infrastructure development and overall economic growth. The transformation taking place back home is being recognised beyond our borders, and progressive partners are stepping up to support that vision. We are encouraged and grateful for the developments taking place here in Beira,” he said.
Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Advocate Misheck Mugadza, welcomed the planned expansion of the Beira fuel and cargo terminals, as well as ongoing developments at Forbes Border Post, describing them as critical to Zimbabwe’s economic growth and regional integration efforts.
“As a country, we were deeply concerned by the delays that had become commonplace at the Port of Beira, where some fuel vessels were taking more than 100 days to offload. We are pleased that these challenges have been addressed and that turnaround times have now been reduced to an average of six days.
“No nation can achieve meaningful development without a reliable fuel supply. Fuel is the lifeblood of economic growth, industrial production and infrastructure development,” said Minister Mugadza.
He said authorities are equally concerned about delays at the cargo terminal, where some ships have been taking up to 180 days to offload.
“We have held fruitful engagements with the terminal operators, who informed us that expansion works at both the fuel and cargo terminals will commence soon. We are optimistic that these upgrades will significantly reduce cargo handling delays and improve the efficiency of the corridor,” he said.
Minister Mugadza said Zimbabwe and Mozambique continue to enjoy strong historical and economic ties that have translated into tangible development benefits for both countries.
“Zimbabwe and Mozambique share a unique relationship. We are Siamese twins whose cooperation has played a pivotal role in advancing development on both sides of the border. We expect even greater progress through continued engagement and the infrastructure projects currently underway.”
He added that the two countries agreed to establish a one-stop border post at Forbes-Machipanda to ease congestion and facilitate the smooth movement of people and goods.
“The introduction of a one-stop border post will go a long way in addressing traffic congestion and delays at Forbes and Machipanda border posts, while enhancing trade efficiency and improving the ease of doing business between our two nations,” said Minister Mugadza.
Ends
