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Beitbridge Bureau

The Zimbabwe United Passenger Company’s (Zupco) batch of 115 new buses imported from China, has arrived at Beitbridge awaiting  clearance.

So far the Government has imported more than 1 000 buses from China and Belarus in the last three years as part of the New Dispensation’s pledge to bring sanity to the roads.

The latest batch of Golden Dragon buses was imported via Durban Port in South Africa, before being driven to Beitbridge.

Late yesterday, the 115 buses were still parked at Gateway truck stop on the South African side of the border pending the finalisation of the clearance processes.

“We expect the buses to cross into Zimbabwe between Monday and Tuesday,” said a Zimbabwean border official.

“These are being cleared using the pre-clearance facility to ensure that when they arrive on our component of the border, they are only checked for compliance before proceeding to the main depot in Harare”.

The official said the buses will be cleared in batches of between 10 and 15 buses to avoid clogging the border.

Zupco’s acting chief executive, Mr Everisto Madangwa, last week said the Government last year imported a total of 349 buses from China to boost the company’s fleet.

“We have received a total of 349 buses imported by the Government excluding those that were given to the Public Service Commission (PSC).

“These buses have been dispatched to all the 10 provinces where they are operating and we are expecting more buses this year.

“A total of 115 buses have been imported via south Africa and these will be in the country in the coming week,” he said.

It is understood that more than 1 000 buses have been acquired from China and Belarus.

These are being delivered to the country in batches of between 50 and 100 buses.

The development follows the arrival of another 90 buses imported via the same route in November last year.