Techobanine Port and Rail Project excites shipping, forwarding agents

Prosper Ndlovu recently in Maputo, Mozambique

THE signing of the groundbreaking Tripartite Agreement on Friday between Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana to operationalise the estimated US$6,5 billion Techobanine Deep Water Port and Rail Project has excited the shipping and forwarding agents who believe that the success of the initiative would impact positively on their operations and other trading businesses.

President Mnangagwa and his two counterparts, President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique and Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi presided over the agreement signing ceremony in Maputo, officially marking the commencement of the project, which had remained on the pipeline since 2011.

Reflecting on the commitment and collaborative effort to actualise the new port project in the neighbouring country, the Shipping and Forwarding Agents’ Association of Zimbabwe (SFAAZ) says the project would have a game-changing impact on the local and regional transport and logistics sphere.

SFAAZ represents shipping lines, freight forwarders, customs clearing agents and bonded warehouse operators in Zimbabwe.
These are companies responsible for import/export document processing with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) at the various ports of entry on behalf of importers/exporters.

SFAAZ chief executive officer Mr Washington Dube, commended President Mnangagwa for leading the country to be part of this high-impact project.

“The signing of the Tripartite Agreement on the Techobanine Water Port is a serious show of commitment by His Excellency, the President of Zimbabwe to regional integration,” he told this news crew.

“The signing of the agreement is a harbinger of the kind of good things to expect as President Mnangagwa assumes the Sadc chairpersonship.”

Mr Dube said the Techobanine Port would ease congestion at Forbes Border Post and also provide another trading route for Zimbabwe to export and import her goods.

“Zimbabwe under the 2nd Republic is taking her rightful place as a regional logistics hub,” he said.

“The 1 700km long Ponta Techobanine Inter-Regional Heavy Haul Railway linking Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana will, especially, benefit Zimbabwe as the bulk of the railway line will be located in Zimbabwe.”

He cited that the railway line will spur growth along the railway road.

Mr Dube said the project dovetails well with President Mnangagwa’s mantra of “leaving no one and no place behind” as the railway line, which will cut across Matabeleland provinces and Bulawayo, would yield increased economic activities and job creation along the route, benefiting ordinary Zimbabweans.

Mr Dube also said that local traders will utilize the railway line, which is a cheaper mode of transport to transport their goods to Mozambique and Botswana.

He said the proposed upgrading of the railway line dovetails with the main agenda of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which seeks to create a single market for goods and services in Africa.