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Senior Business Reporter

THE National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) has identified seven strategic areas countrywide to build inland dry ports, a project the parastatal says will be a solution to the congested seaports and will open business avenues that have not yet been explored in the SADC region.

In 2021, NRZ signed a contractual agreement with DP World for a massive investment in rail infrastructure development.
The arrangement included the setting up of dry port facilities across the country where the railway operator has vast tracts of land.
DP World is a company owned by the government of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), via a holding company.

National Railways of Zimbabwe train

According to a report on the status of the company delivered by NRZ general manager, Ms. Respina Zinyanduko, before the Parliamentary Committee for Transport last week, DP World is expected to give feedback on the project this quarter.
The general manager said there are vast tracts of land, some of which are yet to be tapped into in order to derive worth from.
“NRZ has in the main identified cities and towns, strategically located within the country that can be explored for the establishment of inland dry ports,” she said.

“The dry ports will come as a relief solution to the already congested existing wet ports. The dry ports will be established in Lions Den, Rutenga, Harare, Mutare, Bulawayo, Dabuka and Beitbridge.
“The inland ports will be a relief solution to the congested sea ports and will open avenues that have not yet been explored in the SADC region. DP World have advised they will revert to NRZ in the first quarter of 2023.”

Zimbabwe’s central location is ideal for freight consolidation, warehousing, and intermodal linkages.
It is hoped that establishing a dry port in areas such as the Lion’s Den in Mashonaland West province would see freight destined for Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo being picked up from that facility for transportation by road. Zimbabwe’s partnership with DP World will enable total supply chain solutions for imports, exports, and transit clients within the SADC region.

Some of the advantages being envisaged centre around facilitating easier cross-country logistics and trade, as well as growth in exports and ultimately economic development and direct link to the ports for landlocked countries in the region.
Reduction of road traffic due to rail-road linkages will be permitted. Added to that there will also be a seamless service, with no border delays on rail since customs activities will be conducted in the dry ports.
NRZ is a strategic transporter whose operational capacity and efficiency has over the years not been spared by the economic malaise Zimbabwe was reeling under.

At its peak in the 1990s, the rail entity moved 14,4 million tons of freight against an installed capacity of 18 million tons annually.
Due to operational challenges, the rail entity has faced over the years, its freight volumes have unprecedentedly dwindled to less than four million tons annually.
However, in a recent interview with Business Chronicle, Ms Zinyanduko expressed confidence that the parastatal will surpass its set target of moving three million tons of cargo this year underpinned by several initiatives that have been put in place to revamp operations.
“In 2023 we expect to move about three million tons and we are very confident that we will meet our target and even exceed it because of the initiatives that we are putting in place,” she said.