UAE firm eyes rail, dry ports
UNITED Arab Emirates ( UAE) based leading global supply chain solutions and logistics company, DP World, has expressed interest to build trade enabler infrastructure like roads, rail and dry ports in Zimbabwe to complement similar trade facilitation investment in Mozambique where it is developing a sea port in Maputo.
The company revealed its interest to partner Zimbabwe in the area of transportation and trade logistics infrastructure during a meeting with Vice President Constantino Chiwenga in Dubai, on the sidelines of the Global Business Forum Africa (GBFA), which kicked off yesterday and ends today at the ongoing Expo 2020 Dubai.
Zimbabwe has indicated it was excited by DP World’s initiatives in Mozambique and was more than keen to have these similarly replicated in the country and other key parts of the region to promote trade across Africa.
The UAE-based company has made investments of a similar nature across the world, including Egypt, Somalia and Senegal, where the company will soon invest in new sea ports and free trade zones.
VP Chiwenga is leading a delegation of five Cabinet Ministers to the GBFA, being held on the sidelines of the six months long Expo 2020 Dubai, which started on October 1, 2021 and runs until March 31, 2022.
DP World’s meeting with the VP came shortly after he attended the opening session of the GBFA, where the Dubai-based supply chain solutions and logistics firm was the first to deliver a presentation on its extensive operations in facilitating trade on the African continent.
Also present in the VP’s meeting with DP World was Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Sekai Nzenza, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka and permanent secretary in the Office of the Vice President Major General Chanakira (Rtd).
Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube, Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando and Tourism and Hospitality
Industry Minister Mangaliso Ndlovu are also part of the VP’s entourage in Dubai, but did not attend this particular meeting.
DP World chairman and chief executive, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, said his company wanted to invest in rail systems and dry ports wherever there was significant agricultural and trade activities in order to have exclusivity in terms of moving imports and export of the products.
“Wherever we go, we want to partner the Governments, because it is important for us that the decision makers and the Government officials understand the things we are trying to do and also, you find that sometimes there are rules and regulations required to make it much better for trade to flow . . . in and out of the country,” he said.
Sulayem said he would be grateful to have a chance to visit Harare anytime soon to familiarise with the required investments and opportunities in the country. VP Chiwenga quickly responded saying the Government was ready to host DP World’s top brass “like yesterday”.
The Vice President said it was self-evident, from the presentation by DP World at GBFA that the company would bring significant benefit to Zimbabwe’s transport and logistics Industry and economy in general, if it invested in key trade and logistics infrastructure, including roads, railway systems and dry ports.
“They have put together a fund of US$1,7 billion of developing enablers of trade between Africa and the UAE, Dubai in particular. These enablers are road, rail and ports. As they do this, they are also taking into consideration the structures of Africa from the African Continental Free Trade Area, which is for the entire continent and about 1,2 billion people; COMESA and back home, the SADC,” he said.
“They are already in others areas like Rwanda, where they have a dry port, which has reduced the period for movement of cargo from two weeks to three days.
“But interestingly in our own area, is the development of the Maputo Port, which is going to benefit the three countries, which initially had a memorandum of understanding; that is Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa,” the VP noted.
The idea, the VP said, was for the rail system from Maputo Port to connect into Zimbabwe through Sango Border Post, Rutenga and eventually link up with the existing network at Dabuka in Gweru, the Midlands.
Botswana has reportedly expressed interest in developing a rail line linking Maputo through Rutenga, from where more lines will be constructed. This includes one that Chinese ferro-chrome processor, Afrochine, will build from its Mvuma steel plant area, which is under construction.
Zimbabwe, though, already has a number of rail lines connecting several major industrial and commercial areas, including sugar production region Chiredzi and coal mining area of Hwange in Matabeleland North, but require significant upgrades.
“But more important is that cargo from the north which is going to pass through Zimbabwe going to the Maputo Port, so it is not only Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa, which are going to benefit, but countries in the north, from DRC, will have their cargo coming down,” he said.
The VP said this was an area that will be worked on quickly by the relevant line ministries and the countries involved to have their input.
VP Chiwenga said DP World had indicated it wanted co-operation from the Government as well as the authorities’ buy-in.
He said Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona would soon be visiting Dubai in order to finalise the intricate details of the planned collaboration with DP World.
“This has been an important meeting with DP World, which is basically a logistics company, which is building infrastructure and for Zimbabwe this is now going to help in our exports, our agricultural products, our products from the Mining sector, from the industry,” the Vice President said.
“Investment in rail and dry ports, the Vice President noted, would help Zimbabwe to significantly whittle down the cost of transportation, compared to what it is incurring using air and road freight movement.