HARARE
–
The
National
Railways
of
Zimbabwe
has
opened
its
network
up
to
private
players,
including
a
unit
of
South
Africa’s
Grindrod,
as
it
seeks
to
boost
freight
volumes
that
had
collapsed
after
decades
of
underinvestment,
an
official
said.
NRZ
hauled
12
million
tons
of
cargo
annually
at
its
1990s
peak,
but
now
manages
less
than
3
million
tons
owing
to
a
lack
of
locomotives
and
poor
maintenance
of
its
rail
infrastructure.
The
collapse
also
followed
a
sharp
decline
in
agricultural
and
mineral
output,
triggered
by
the
violent
seizure
of
white-owned
farms
championed
by
Zimbabwe’s
former
leader
Robert
Mugabe
in
2000.
However,
mineral
output
is
on
the
rebound,
mainly
driven
by
chrome
and
lithium
demand
from
China.
Chinese
companies
such
as
Tsingshan
Holdings,
Sinosteel,
Sinomine
have
in
recent
years
established
iron
ore,
steel,
chrome
and
lithium
operations
in
Zimbabwe.
They
export
the
minerals
to
China
through
Mozambique’s
ports,
and
the
growing
commodity
export
volumes
exceed
the
NRZ’s
current
capacity.
The
state-owned
group
is
now
looking
to
restore
its
capacity
with
the
aid
of
private
companies.
“Last
year
we
uplifted
2.8
million
tons
against
available
business
of
3
million
tons,”
NRZ
spokesperson
Andrew
Kunambura
told
Reuters
in
an
interview
on
Wednesday.
“So
these
private
companies
are
coming
in
with
their
locomotives
and
wagons
to
augment
what
we
have.”
Grindrod,
through
its
Zimbabwean
subsidiary
Beitbridge
Bulawayo
Railway,
has
deployed
three
locomotives
and
150
wagons
since
March
as
part
of
the
arrangement.
The
South
African
logistics
company
is
positioning
itself
for
freight
rail
partnerships
in
southern
Africa
as
under-funded
state-owned
operators
open
up
their
creaking
networks
to
private
investors.
The
mineral-rich
region
holds
some
of
the
world’s
biggest
deposits
of
copper
and
lithium,
needed
for
cleaner
energy,
and
is
seeing
growth
in
new
mining
projects
which
require
expanded
rail
capacity.
Grindrod
has
restructured
its
rail
business
to
take
advantage
of
emerging
market
opportunities
in
the
region,
CEO
Xolani
Mbambo
told
analysts
last
week.
The
company
has
recently
agreed
a
partnership
with
the
DRC’s
inland
railway
company
and
says
it
is
ready
to
partner
South
Africa’s
Transnet,
which
also
plans
to
open
up
its
network
to
private
players.
–
Reuters