Damco extends links from Zimbabwe to southern and east Africa

DAMCO, a member of the AP Moller-Maersk Group, has announced that it is preparing to open a new office in Harare, Zimbabwe, in October.

Damco Africa manager Nils Havsager said the company's expansion into Zimbabwe comes ahead of increased logistics activities expected in Harare. He said that Damco also expects Zimbabwean importers and exporters to "benefit from competitive rates" due to increased volumes.

"We provide sound, local forwarding and supply chain management expertise combined with a global network, and Harare plays an important part as a logistics hub for neighbouring countries," said Mr Havsager in a company statement.

Damco said the new office in Harare will offer Zimbabwean and regional customers cargo consolidation and a number of combinations of rail/road, break-bulk/containerisation to and from the ports of Durban, Beira and Maputo.

"An example could be minerals out of Zambia, which are typically transported as break-bulk on trucks down to Durban because of the insufficient container availability. By using Harare as a logistics hub, we can now help our customers transport their break-bulk by truck from Zambia to Harare, containerise the cargo and then use rail as a cheaper means of transport to Beira, Maputo and Durban," said Mr Havsager.

"While the traditional sourcing markets like China and India continue to be focus investment areas for both traditional export markets and domestic consumption, Africa is increasingly an attractive market for our customers, particularly in terms of our reefer services for frozen, fresh and chilled food products."

Damco already operates 23 offices across the African continent, including South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia and Malawi, as well as in most of the other East and West African countries, it said.

 

Source: schednet