Zimbabwe replaces aging rails with Chinese import
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-10-27 13:28
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe has taken delivery of 12,000 tons of rail from
China to replace aging rail which is now more than 100 years old.
The rail would replace 1,300 km of rail in Zimbabwe's network which has
outlived its life span, Zimbabwe's Transport and Communications Minister Chri
Mushohwe told Xinhua in an interview on Thursday.
The rail was imported from China at a cost of 10.4 million US dollars, with
the assistance of the North Limpopo Projects Investments, the latest deal on the
list of growing investment and trade deals between Zimbabwe and China, the
minister said.
Mushohwe also said in a speech read at Rutenga railway Station, 170 km south
of Harare, the relations between Zimbabwe and China are growing.
He said the Zimbabwean government would soon take over the maintenance of the
rail network from the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) to allow the
parastatal to concentrate on operations. NRZ General Manager Mike Karakadzai
said the existing rail, laid in 1897, had outlived its lifespan since it was
supposed to be replaced after every 50 years.
"With the new rail, we will be able to restore and upgrade our railway
system, which gives us a sense of security for goods and passengers because worn
out rail cause derailments," he said.
The ceremony was witnessed by cabinet ministers, NRZ board members and
Chinese officials. NRZ board chairman Douglas Nyikayaramba said the new rail
would help the company revive the country's economy through transporting either
imported or export goods.
"Our communication system is being vandalized yet its so expensive to
replace. Our appeal, therefore is that every Zimbabwean should police our
equipment because it's for our benefit as a nation," he said. On August this
year, at least eight people died when two trains collided near the resort town
of Victoria falls in northern Zimbabwe after the two train drivers failed to
communicate owing to vandalized equipment.
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