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Beitbridge upgrade to cause six weeks of delays to one of Africa’s busiest border posts

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Queues of vehicles waiting to cross the Beitbridge border post
Queues of vehicles waiting to cross the Beitbridge border post

The busiest border crossing in southern Africa will experience six weeks of significant delays as an upgrade begins.

The Beitbridge crossing straddles South Africa and Zimbabwe and is an important access point for the Democratic Republic of Congo. The border point has been closed to non-commercial traffic since January to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

There will be "significant congestion and delays" for the next six weeks due to construction work, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority said Sunday in a statement. North-bound traffic will be most affected.

On average about 25,000 people pass through Beitbridge daily, according to Zimbabwean officials. Lenders including Standard Bank Group and FirstRand provided $130 million of loans for the upgrade.

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