The National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA) has said that they have imported more than 30 million liters of fuel since the country resumed using rail transport.
In an interview with The Atlas Malawi, NOCMA spokesperson Reymond Likambale said through the railway mode of transport, the company is saving 40 percent in monetary value.
According to Likambale, the percent is expected to increase with the opening of the Beira-Nsanje route which was launched by President Lazarus Chakwera within the week.
On Wednesday, Chakwera was at Marka Border Railway Station when he received the inaugural fuel train carrying 1.2 million petroleum products from Beira, Mozambique.
The route was last used in 1985 during the Mozambique civil war.
He said the resumption of the railway line in the country will help to enhance the socio-economic development of the country.
Since the resumption of the rail transportation, Malawi has been using the Nacara-Blantyre route.
“The Beira route is the shortest of all, because we are talking about 360km to Nsanje, then about 800km from Nacara to Blantyre and about 1755km from Dar-es-Salaam to Lilongwe. So we are expecting that this new route will help us a lot,” said Likambale who disclose that on average, NOCMA is using the trains four times a month, basing on order.
Last month, the train carrying fuel arrived in Lilongwe after suspension of such services for 21 years.
Minister of Transport, Jacob Hara said the arrival of the train is a milestone in transport infrastructure development.
Hara said the railway line will help to reduce the cost of transport for goods and services in the country, noting: “50 percent of the cost of products transports.”
