Pension Fund invests US$60m in dry port near Forbes Border Post

Business Reporter

The Public Service Pension Fund is investing nearly US$60 million towards the construction of a state-of-the-art dry port near Forbes Border Post in Mutare, a strategic move set to transform Zimbabwe’s eastern trade corridor into a high-capacity regional logistics hub.

CBZ Holdings, through its asset management subsidiary Datvest, is implementing the mega-project. PSPF holds a 20 percent stake in CBZ Holdings.

Speaking during the launch of the Afreximbank’s Africa Trade and Distribution Company (ATDC) Zimbabwe last week, CBZ Holdings chief executive Mr Lawrence Nyazema said the investment aligns with the financial group’s strategy to back critical nodes along major trade corridors.

“We are trying to ensure that we facilitate trade in a sustainable way,” Mr Nyazema said, pointing to CBZ’s existing commitment to raise US$600 million for the rehabilitation of the Harare-Chirundu highway.

Highlighting the bank’s continental focus ahead of the upcoming Common Market or Eastern and Southern Africa Summit, Mr Nyazema added that CBZ is the first financial institution to partner with ATDC.

The platform combines ATDC’s pan-African network with CBZ’s local market expertise to boost exports, strengthen agricultural and industrial value chains, and support Zimbabwe’s integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Located on a 26-hectare site in Mutare, the inland hub — the second of its kind in the country after Bak Logistics Willowvale industrial area facility — is scheduled to commence operations in the first quarter of 2027.

By decentralising customs clearance, freight handling, and bonded storage away from the border, the dry port will drastically reduce truck turnaround times, lower shipping costs, and ease chronic gridlock along the Beira Corridor and within Mutare’s central business district.

Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF) chief investment officer Dr Farai Gaba said during a recent tour of the facility that the project was conceived to address longstanding bottleneck challenges at Forbes Border Post while driving economic transformation across Manicaland.

“This project sits on 26 hectares acquired in 2022.

“All planning and approval processes have been completed, and development is now underway under Phase One,” Dr Gaba said.

“When we came to Manicaland, we wanted to deliver a high-impact investment. We observed the congestion challenges at Forbes Border Post and decided to provide a sustainable solution while creating economic activity in Mutare.”

Dr Gaba noted that the facility is designed to handle up to 800 haulage trucks daily.

“The trucks will be processed at the port, enabling ZIMRA and other border agencies to conduct procedures off the main route. This will improve traffic flow and make Mutare far more accessible,” he said.

For the PSPF, deploying capital into revenue-generating infrastructure helps hedge pension assets against inflation while securing steady long-term yields through storage fees, commercial leases, and logistics services.

Beyond logistics, the dry port is expected to revitalise Mutare’s Nyakamete industrial zone by stimulating local manufacturing, cold-chain development and job creation.

It will also solidify Zimbabwe’s role as a transit link connecting coastal ports in Mozambique to landlocked regional markets, including Zambia, Malawi, and the broader SADC region.

The facility will feature advanced cargo-handling equipment, including reach stackers, rubber-tyred gantry cranes, heavy-duty forklifts, terminal tractors and skeletal trailers.

It will also incorporate weighbridges, automated customs scanning technology, refrigerated container monitoring systems, digital yard-management software, 24-hour CCTV surveillance and specialised fire-suppression systems.

Speaking during the industrialisation conference in July this year, Mrs Mary Machingaidze, managing director of BAK Logistics — one of the largest logistics companies in Zimbabwe — said that as industry expands, businesses are realising that transport and storage logistics must be planned concurrently rather than as an afterthought.

To unlock the country’s manufacturing and export potential, Mrs Machingaidze outlined several key short-to-medium-term infrastructural interventions.

She called for immediate capital investment to refurbish existing railway lines, acquire new locomotives, and roll out a practical road-to-rail integration strategy, while advocating for modern inland dry ports along strategic trade corridors beyond the main facility in Harare.

Mrs Machingaidze disclosed that BAK Logistics is currently engaged in high-level talks with a global supply chain giant to establish a modern dry port facility in Rutenga.

Source: Pension Fund invests US$60m in dry port near Forbes Border Post – herald

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