Zimbabwe: Hwange Colliery, NRZ Strike Deal

Source from:  The Herald (Harare), May 16, 2006 05/17/2006

THE Hwange Colliery Company and the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) have struck a deal to rehabilitate railway lines across the country in a bid to improve rail transport for tobacco farmers, an official has said. Hwange Colliery sales and logistics manager Mr Mandla Mangena, said the company had imported spare parts including bulldozers, drillers, and coal haulers from the Asian market. "Right now the consignment from the Asian market is on its way from Mozambique. We expect to have the equipment operating at full capacity by the end of June," he said. He meanwhile said the company was operating at between 40-50 percent capacity, which was projected to increase to 85 percent around June. Hwange, he said, was facing cashflow problems because major customers had to pay through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe which then forwarded the money to the coal producer, which took some time. Mr Mangena said the rehabilitation of rail would improve service delivery to clients as the company would supply coal products on time to farmers.