Cear touts its performance on cargo haulage
Central East African Railways (Cear) has touted its performance, saying it hauled more cargo at the end of January 2016 compared to the same period last year, an official has said.
In January 2015, Cear’s rail network was affected by floods that hit 15 of the country’s 28 districts, rendering it impassable.
During the time, Cear suspended its Limbe-Makhanga passenger train due to the washing away of Nansadi Bridge in Thyolo.
Giving an update of its performance, Cear communications officer ChisomoMwamadi said the firm moved 22 836 tonnes of cargo by January 31 compared to 4 907 tonnes the year before.
“This is quite an achievement to us because during the same period last year we were in the red in terms of tonnages for January as most of our rail network was washed away. We resumed operations around May, but still struggled to achieve our set target,” he said in a statement on Friday.
Mwamadi attributed the feat to the rehabilitation works on its network, which cost the company about K400 million, saying they invested heavily in infrastructure to resume operations.
The cargo for January included wheat, grain, sugar, tea and sugar.
Chartered Instituted of Logistics and Transport (Cilt) StallardMpata last month in Blantyre said Malawi could register massive economic development if it fully utilises its railway sector, which could reduce transportation cost.
