Freeman Razemba, Harare Bureau
LOCAL logistics firm Grand Rail Solutions is set to buy 1 160 wagons and locomotives to transport 1,7 million tonnes of raw materials, mainly coal and finished steel products, to and from the Manhize steel plant in Mvuma.
This follows a Strategic Collaboration Agreement signed this week between GRS, Disco and the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ).
Under the public-private partnership, dubbed “Hook and Haul,” GRS will provide locomotives, wagons and fuel to move coal from Hwange to Mvuma, as well as steel products from the Mvuma plant to the market.
NRZ will provide infrastructure and crews to drive the trains.
According to NRZ, under Phase One of the deal, 1,1 million tonnes of coal will be transported to
Mvuma per annum. 600 000 tonnes of steel—in the grades of pig iron, steel billets, and other products—will be moved to the market via rail. This means GRS will provide freight of 1,7 million tonnes through the NRZ rail network. GRS will also pay NRZ a certain amount per tonne per kilometre moved by rail.
In an interview, GRS director Mr Linos Masimura confirmed that the company will also refurbish NRZ locomotives and wagons, as well as purchase 1 160 wagons and locomotives from South Africa or India. The first batch of 14 locomotives is expected within the next two weeks.
“So far in terms of refurbishments, our teams will this Thursday (today) visit the NRZ premises for assessment so that they will inform us on how many units are available and the estimated costs to repair, and then we take it forward,” he said.
On purchasing, Mr Masimura said they had already started receiving offers from firms in South Africa and India, while with regards to China they were still in the assessment stage.
“For immediate use, we are looking at either purchase or leasing from South Africa and India, while with regards to purchasing from China we are still in the assessment stage. As the first part of the project, we will start with 14 locomotives, but we are looking at about 1 160 locomotives in total, and we are now putting everything into place for this project,” he said.
Mr Masimura said when purchasing, they have to first place an order for the locomotives to be supplied, and for a start they were going to lease them while waiting for the orders to be supplied.
On purchasing from China, he said due to technological advancement in that country, they were still in the assessment stage.
NRZ public affairs and stakeholder relations manager Mr Andrew Kunambura also confirmed the developments.
“The second phase will also see the two entities collaborating in the upgrading of the railway track line between Gweru and Mvuma to bring it up to standard at an estimated cost of about US$27 million. This will enable the movement of significantly increased traffic volumes on the line.
“The next phase of the deal will be the construction of a 50km track from Mvuma to Manhize to link the steel plant to the railway network under a Build-Transfer-Operate (BTO) model. GRS will finance construction of the track and transfer it to NRZ, which will operate on the line with costs of construction recovered through offsets,” NRZ said in a statement.
This deal is set to increase annual tonnage for NRZ while at the same time transferring the bulk of coal traffic from Hwange from road to rail. It will also significantly reduce the cost of production and ensure that Zimbabwean products are competitive on the global market.
On Monday, the agreement, which was signed in Mvuma, brought together the national railway operator, one of Zimbabwe’s major emerging industrial players, and a private rail solutions provider in a partnership aimed at improving the movement of freight.
The new US$125 million railway line linking Dinson Iron and Steel Company’s (Disco) Manhize Steel Plant to Mvuma is set to transform the movement of minerals and steel while providing a major boost to Zimbabwe’s industrialisation drive.
The 54-kilometre rail link is at the centre of a strategic cooperation agreement signed between NRZ, GRS, and Disco—described as a major step towards rebuilding the country’s rail infrastructure and strengthening the industrial value chain.
Representatives from the three entities signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), paving the way for the commencement of construction of the railway line from Manhize to Mvuma town.
Speaking at the ceremony, NRZ Acting CEO Mrs Ainah Dube-Kaguru said the agreement represented an important step towards rebuilding the country’s rail freight system while supporting the productive sectors of the economy.
The remarks come as Zimbabwe seeks to leverage rail transport to support industrialisation, particularly the movement of bulk commodities associated with mining and steel production.
The Manhize steel project, being developed by Dinson, is expected to generate significant demand for reliable transportation of raw materials, finished steel products, and other industrial inputs.
The rail operator said the collaboration would combine the strengths of the three parties to improve the country’s response to growing transportation requirements.
This development also comes against the background of renewed calls for the rehabilitation of Zimbabwe’s railway network as the country pursues its industrialisation and infrastructure development targets.
Disco chief executive officer Mr Benson Xu said Disco was positioning itself as an anchor customer for NRZ, with reliable rail logistics critical to transforming the steel project into an industrial and export hub.
Last month, NRZ took a major step towards restoring its freight capacity after commissioning three refurbished locomotives and 100 wagons in Harare. The refurbishment, carried out at NRZ’s Bulawayo Mechanical Workshops, was funded through a US$2,5 million injection from mining giant Zimasco under a public-private partnership arrangement. Under the agreement, Zimasco funded the procurement of critical spares and consumables valued at approximately US$2,46 million.
The programme forms part of Government’s National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) drive to strengthen private-sector collaboration and revive the country’s railway transport system.
