Story by Owen Mandovha
THE Freight and Forwarding industry has applauded the completion of the Trabablas Interchange, stating its importance to facilitate seamless transportation of goods and services. The multi-million dollar Interchange which opened to traffic this Friday, has ignited optimism across various sectors.
Shipping and Freight Forwarding Association of Zimbabwe says the Trabablas Interchange eliminates a gridlock that lengthened transit times.
“This route is so key in facilitating trade and the government responded accordingly when it rehabilitated the highway which obviously is left with some few sections but the route has been modernised in such a way that it is now the most preferable and smooth route to use that certainly enhances trade in the region,” president of Shipping and Freight Forwarders Association of Zimbabwe, Mr Washington Dube said.
Thousands of cargo carriers use the Limpopo corridor from South African ports and industries into the Southern Africa region through the Beitbridge border post hence this route is critical in facilitating trade and other economic activities.
South African-based trade analyst Omali Jalai believes that the government has struck the right code to make Zimbabwe a key regional transport hub.
“The importance of this route cannot be understated when it comes to regional trade and it is important that Zimbabwe seizes this important opportunity to ensure that it becomes the most preferable route in the transportation of goods from South Africa and in the export of goods into South Africa which obviously reduces costs,” he said.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa promised that the North-South corridor is undergoing rehabilitation and a contractor for the upgrading of the Chirundu Border Post was identified as a major feat that will enhance Zimbabwe as a regional transport hub.
The expansion and upgrading of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport also signifies the Government’s determination to modernise the entire national transport ecosystem that syncs with an upper-middle-income society.
