adminZimbabwe was given land by the Namibian Government to develop a dry port that will facilitate the importation of goods from America and Europe.
“My ministry and the department of roads are working on it (dry port). There are people that are working on the architectural designs of the port as well as putting up the necessary infrastructure to develop the port,” he said, in a telephone interview.
The project to establish the port was being spearheaded by a transport concern, Road Motor Services (RMS) in conjunction with the Namibian port authority and the Walvis Bay Corridor Group.
Prof Ncube would not be drawn into revealing the amount that the Government had invested to establish the dry port as he did not have the figures off hand.
“At the moment, the Government is broke and the completion of work to develop the dry port depends on the extent resources are available,” he said.
Due to limited resources, it is hoped that the RMS will enter into a tripartite arrangement with other stakeholders.
In 2011, Walvis Bay Corridor Group held an information session in Harare to enlighten potential and existing transport operators in Zimbabwe about the benefits of using the bay’s corridor routes.
Economic analysts have said utilisation of the Trans-Kalahari and the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor would Zimbabwe save time and costs.
It is hoped that once operational, the Walvis Bay Dry Port would see Plumtree Border Post becoming one of the country’s busiest points of entry.
To curtail the challenges associated with busy ports of entry, plans are in the pipeline by Government to introduce a one-stop border concept at Plumtree.
Delays, congestion and inefficient service delivery, loss of business due to long waiting periods are some of the challenges experienced at busy points of entry without the one-stop concept.
Online Reporter