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Writes Elvis Dumba
Kariba – The construction of Makuti Dry Port in the border town of Chirundu is set to serve as an important trade link along the North-South Corridor.
This was revealed by Mashonaland West Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Hon Marian Chombo during the Shipping and Forwarding Agents Association of Zimbabwe 18th Annual Conference held at Tamarind Resort in Kariba.
Speaking on the importance of Mashonaland West Province in international trade, Minister Chombo said the province which is the third biggest contributor to the National Gross Domestic Product of 12,5% after Harare and Bulawayo is a vital cog in the North-South Trade Corridor providing the shortest link of ports of Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Beira, and Maputo to Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“Students of history are aware that Mashonaland West Province has since the early 1900s played an important part of the Cape to Cairo route and a game-changing construction of The Makuti Dry Port – a pilot project for other three dry ports to be established in the country. It is expected to decongest Chirundu Border Post with Makuti becoming an important center of International Trade in Zimbabwe as cargo trucks will be cleared before reaching the border on the Zimbabwean side,” she said.
Minister Chombo assured that rehabilitation of the Harare-Chirundu Highway is on course in a bid to spur traffic and increase trade along the route.
The Zambian Ambassador to Zimbabwe also attended the conference as the two countries seek to increase trade cooperation.