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By Prosper Ndlovu

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has left the country for Maputo, Mozambique, to meet Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi for the signing of a Tripartite Agreement on the Techobanine Deep Water Port today.

He was seen off at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport this morning by Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Dr Jenfan Muswere, Environment, Climate and Wildlife Minister, Dr Sithembiso Nyoni, service chiefs and senior Government officials.

President Mnangagwa is accompanied by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister, Dr Frederick Shava and other senior Government officials.

The proposed milestone project has an estimated budget of $6,5 billion covering the construction of the deep-water port in Matutuine District, and a 1 700km railway line linking Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana.

Its implementation has been under discussion since around 2011, with stalling having been attributed to lack of funding.

Deputy Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet responsible for Presidential Commumications, Mr George Charamba said the project is very significant for Zimbabwe, which, by virtue of being centrally located in the southern region, is visualising its own growth as a transport hub for the whole region.

“We have moved away from the old notion of a landlocked country to a land-linked country,” he said in an interview.

“Moreso where you have a neighbor as friendly as Mozambique with a vast coastline, which provides lots of opportunities for sea-bound traffic, so really what we are looking at is collaborative efforts to

combine Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Mozambique to create a railway line that passes through Zimbabwe but terminates in Botswana in order to make sure that Botswana has that logistical advantage,” said Mr Charamba.

….more to follow