NACALA TRAFFIC BOOST
Posted on 28 August 2009 by Railways Africa Editor
Central East African Railways (Cear), the concessionaire operating the railways of Malawi, reports good traffic levels in recent months.
Cear chief executive Henry Chimwaza told Thom Khanje of the Malawi Daily Times that appreciable amounts of imported fuel, wheat and fertiliser are being moved inland from the Mozambiquan port of Nacala, and in the other direction, significant export traffic from Malawi comprising tobacco, sugar and pigeon peas.
“There is a lot of support from industry,” Chimwaza explained to Khanje, “because of the increased confidence they have in us as we are now able to move their cargo as required”. Cear’s major clients currently include Farmers World, Export Trading Company, Bakhresa Grain and Milling, Petroleum Imports Limited, Illovo Sugar and the tobacco exporting companies.
On the Mozambiquan side, repair work along the problem 77km of track west of Cuamba has enabled a reduction in transit time from five hours to three. Trains are now able to move at 25km/h compared with the previous maximum of 15. It is hoped to double the speed to 50km/h by the end of 2009.
Malawian Privatisation Commission spokesperson Chimwemwe Matonga is quoted saying that government, following the recommendations of consultants, is renegotiating the concession agreement with Cear, “to take into consideration new developments in the railway business and to yield more benefits”. The agreement, signed in 1999, gave Cear a 20-year concession to operate the former Malawi Railways. However, according to the commission’s 2008 annual report, eight years after granting the concession, “there has not been any significant improvement in either operational or financial performance”, compared to the situation when government operated the services. The report continues: “It is hoped that by reviewing and successfully renegotiating the concession, government and Cear will identify areas that require attention and mutually seek to find ways of addressing the situation.”
[ In September 2002, Agence France Presse reported, “Britain and Canada will donate $US5.6 million to repair a vital rail link between Malawi and Mozambique which would help speed up the transport of emergency food aid, a top UN official has said. The poorly-maintained 77km Nacala rail link is the shortest and cheapest route to the sea for land-locked Malawi.” – editor
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