Harare (New Ziana) – Zimbabwe and South Africa are considering building a new bridge at their common border in Beitbridge to lessen congestion, an official has said.
Beitbridge is Africa’s busiest ports serving several landlocked countries in southern and central Africa.
With a rapidly growing economy, Zimbabwe’s is expanding its Beitbridge border post under a US$300 million Build, Operate and Transfer deal with a private investor, Zimborder Consortium.
The expansion entails, among other things, construction of new terminals, installation of state of the art cargo scanning equipment, purchase of technical equipment and software, establishment of a fire station, residential housing units, a wastewater treatment plant, a water pump station and other infrastructure.
The upgraded Beitbridge border post commercial terminal is expected to open for traffic next month.
Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure Engineer, Thedias Chinyanga said the new bridge is expected to improve the smooth flow of traffic on the Zimbabwean side of the border post.
“The bridge is basically a bilateral issue. It’s a bridge that’s bridging two countries. I am happy to divulge that the two governments are in discussions on the matter of another bridge.
“I think eventually, once we see the efficiency that we have introduced here, we will assess whether there will be need for a new bridge then we get down to business with the South African government,” he said.
The current bridge handles at least 1 200 heavy trucks, 3 500 light motor vehicles and 15 0000 travellers on a daily basis.
New Ziana
