The New Limpopo Bridge (NLB) was officially opened in 1995 by the late founding presidents of Zimbabwe and South Africa Robert Mugabe and Nelson Mandela respectively following a build-operate-transfer (BOT) deal that gave birth to the new structure.
Zinara has one traffic controller per shift directing traffic on the bridge managed through a multi-agency team both in Zimbabwe and South Africa, he said.
He said at any given time, Zinara and the South Africa Revenue Services ask for specific numbers and type of vehicles required to cross to either country, to which Zinara traffic controllers comply while paying attention on the need to keep the bridge clear of traffic.
Mugabe said the imports put pressure on the infrastructure on both sides of the Beitbridge border post, including the bridge with traffic having almost doubled to an average of 1 000 trucks per day compared to 600 in recent months.
"The VID weighbridge is partly slowing down the movement of inbound commercial traffic due to its proximity to the New Limpopo Bridge," Mugabe said, noting that the commercial parking area on the arrivals side was currently limited due to ongoing upgrading of the border post.
