eBusiness Weekly
Michael Tome
Players in the mining industry have expressed concern over the ailing railway network system in the country as it is a serious drawback to operations viability.
Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC) chairman Muchadeyi Masunda expressed dismay over the country’s dysfunctional rail system considering its potential to push up operating expenses.
The cost of transporting bulk commodities by road is highly unsustainable hence need to formulate strategies that can restore the vibrancy of the country’s railway system.
The local railway network is designed to move 18 million tonnes per annum but its presently moving six million tonnes.
While addressing BNC’s annual general meeting Masunda highlighted that there was urgent need to rehabilitate the country’s infrastructure particularly rail network for bulk goods transporting companies.
He pleaded with firms to find a common way to resuscitate the rail system.
“We have in the past emphasised the need for us as a country to revamp our infrastructure and that has to happen to start with the railways.
“So it is absolutely imperative for us as a country to do whatever that needs to be done to get the railway system working again. At the moment it is dysfunctional and that means it is incumbent on all companies that are in the business of moving bulk quantities to put heads together and revisit all those models that have been placed from time immemorial as to what needs to be done to get our railways working again.
“Right now we have unsustainable expense from the cost effectiveness point of view, moving all the hefty stuff that we are talking about by road from Bindura, is just unsustainable and too costly, so we need to move that by rail,” said Masunda.
Meanwhile, the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) recently indicated that it had completed the refurbishment of 10 locomotives and 336 wagons in a bid to improve its fleet and regain its status as a bulk transport unit setting the entity for increased freight volumes.
NRZ has a total of 1 186 locomotives on our rail including the recently added 20.
The authority said it sought to increase freight volumes from six million tonnes to designed capacity of 18 million tonnes per year while the Ministry of Transport had rehabilitated 58km of railway tracks to date.
Rail and road infrastructure are key economic enablers that need requisite attention to spur economic growth.
