Beitbridge reaches financial closure
HARARE - The US$300 million re-development of Beitbridge border post reached financial closure recently, with work having already started.
Zimbabwean side the Beitbridge border post is being upgraded under a 17- and- a- half- year concession granted by the Zimbabwe to Zimborders. Zimborders Consortium is made up of a group of Zimbabweans, South Africans, international entrepreneurs and financial institutions and experts.
The project, to be implemented under a Public Private Partnership with the Government, will be privately funded with a -17-and-half-years’ operating concession period following the completion of the construction works expected within two years.
RMB Capital, which acted as financial advisor to Zimborders, said the financial closure had been reached while media consultant for Zimborders, confirmed to The Herald Finance & Business that
The of the commencement of works but could not provide more details.
The redevelopment of the border post will make it more efficient, leading to increased regional trade, benefiting the Zimbabwe economy and fiscus, and SA’s economy indirectly.
Through the concession, the development has a focused socioeconomic impact: In addition to upgrading the ageing infrastructure at the border post itself, the concession also requires the delivery of social infrastructure to the adjacent town of Beitbridge, including a water treatment plant, housing and a fire station.
Beitbridge is one of the busiest border posts in Africa, which not only connects Zimbabwe and South Africa, but also serves as the transit point for the majority of northsouth trade in Southern Africa. Research has shown that Southern Africa has witnessed an increase in the volume of commercial and private cross-border traffic.
OVER the last five years, the Patriotic Front (PF) under the leadership of President Edgar Lungu's placed placed “economic diversification and job creation” as a core strategic focus in our national development blue-print, the 7th National Development Plan (7NDP).
Today, as we close off the 2017-2021 7NDP implementation period, PF has “walked the talk” in delivering economic diversification, building economic resilience, and creating employment for our people.
Concerning job creation, the PF Government over the last five years has recorded numerous successes including, but not limited to, the following:
PF Government, through the CEEC, financed the Cassava Value Chain which has resulted in the commissioning of a starch processing plant called Premiercons Starch Company, one of the largest cassava starch processing plants in Southern Africa. The processing company, with the capacity to produce over 26, 000 tonnes of starch, is projected to create over 29, 000 jobs under this Cassava Commercialisation Project. PF Government, through the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) group of companies, created over 11, 000 jobs by, among other things, ensuring that StateOwned Companies become profit-making. This positive transformation is evidenced not only by the number of jobs created, but also by the increase in the value of the IDC group from K44.5 billion to about K101 billion in 2015 and 2018, respectively.
Further, the IDC group has recorded a significant increase in dividends from K43 million to K123 million in 2015 and 2019, respectively.
The Zambezi Cashew Project in Western Province was projected to create 500 direct jobs and over 15, 000 jobs across the value chain. The Eastern Tropical Fruits in Katete was expected to create over 600 jobs by the third quarter of 2020.
The Kalene Hills Fruit Processing Project in Mwinilunga was expected to create over 700 jobs.
The Mununshi Fruit Company in Mwense was poised to create 350 jobs.
These few examples highlight the undeniable fact that despite the ravaging Covid-19 pandemic which has adversely affected the economies of the world, Zambia inclusive, the PF Government has been delivering its promises, namely: economic diversification and job creation.
Finally, President Lungu has continued to provide leadership to accelerate industrialisation, achieve sustainable economic growth, create jobs, and spur rural development.
It cannot be denied that President Lungu has also provided leadership in managing the Covid-19 pandemic by allowing the wheels of the economy to continue turning under the new normal.
This is contrary to his competitor's prescribed “complete lockdown” of the country which would have led to a collapse of the economy.