Opportunities for adding
value to freight moving
along the Maputo Corridor will
be created by the development
of a Special Economic Zone
(SEZ) in the Nkomazi District
Municipality.
Logistics services, agroprocessing
and agro-related
industries will be housed in the
SEZ.
“The proximity to markets
for both imports and exports,
the availability of raw materials
and the available resources are
important for this project,”
says Barbara Mommen, chief
executive of the Maputo
Corridor Logistics Initiative
(MCLI).
“In addition, the SEZ
will benefit from the
existing excellent corridor
infrastructure, and particularly
from the proximity to the port
of Maputo,” she says.
A successful SEZ will depend
on the free f low of cargo.
“MCLI will continue to
focus on the bottlenecks on the
corridor. We will continue to
lobby for a 24-hour operation on
the corridor which has been our
mantra for the past 10 years.
“Without this, we continue to
limit the growth potential and
particularly the efficiency of
the many supply chains on the
corridor
“Obviously our first prize
would be a 24-hour One Stop
Border Post, and this pressing
necessity will continue to be our
focus,” says Mommen.
“The most immediate
challenges for the corridor
include the impact of the
current road works on the
movement of vehicles on the
N4, particularly on the stretch
of road between Moamba and
Matola.
“However, TRAC and its
contractors are working hard
to complete this important
improvement during the first
quarter of 2015,” she says.
“In the longer term, we will
be looking at the ability of
current infrastructure to handle
the growing volumes on the
corridor, and we are particularly
keen to work with TFR on their
road to rail strategy on our
corridor,” she adds.
INSERT & CAPTION
We will continue to lobby
for a 24-hour operation on
the corridor which has been
our mantra for the past 10
years.
– Barbara Mommen
