The National Railways of Zimbabwe has said that it signed a new deal with Union Wagons of Russia on Tuesday for the supply of wagons and locomotives.
NRZ board chairman Advocate Martin Dinha is optimistic that the deal which shall see Zimbabwe getting 5000 wagons and 70 locomotives will resuscitate the struggling NRZ. He said:
The deal involves the capacitation of NRZ, as you are aware we have had capacity problems over the years and now we want to acquire rolling stock and rolling stock involves locomotives and wagons.
We signed a deal with (Union) Wagons (of Russia), the largest wagon manufacturing company in Russia and we are going to get delivery of 100 wagons starting in January (2020); prototypes specially designed for our conditions in Zimbabwe.
Dinha added that NRZ has since secured US$10 million required for the 100 wagons that are expected in the country by January next year.
Meanwhile, NRZ is struggling to meet demand emanating mainly from agriculture and mining industries.
The public transport system in Zimbabwe is collapsed and the resuscitation of the NRZ can be a relief to members of the public who bear the brunt of high transport costs.
More: The Chronicle