The proposed new border post would help ease pressure on the existing stop.
The Kruger National Park and others oppose a proposed
trucks-only border crossing to Mozambique.A spokesperson for Kruger National Park says there are
concerns about the negative impact the development will have on the
environment.Logistics Company, which is behind the development, says
that potential negative impacts can be mitigated.For climate change news and analysis, go to News24 Climate Future.
South Africa’s biggest wildlife reserve and some local
businesses are opposing plans for a new privately operated trucks-only border
crossing aimed at speeding up mineral exports to ports in neighbouring
Mozambique.
The Logistics Company, indirectly owned by Old Mutual’s
African Infrastructure Investment Managers, plans to open a new route at
Komatipoort, the main land crossing from South Africa en route to Maputo, the
Mozambican capital.
The development will be on the southeastern boundary of the
Kruger National Park, closer to the reserve than the current crossing.
“Our concerns are around the negative impact this
proposal will have on the environment, biodiversity and the protected area of
the Kruger National Park,” Isaac Phaahla, spokesman for the reserve, said
by email.
The park has submitted its concerns as part of the
environmental impact assessment process, he said.
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The proposed new border post would help ease pressure on the
existing stop, where a queue of lorries carrying iron ore, chrome and coal can
stretch for 30 kilometers. The congestion has brought chaos to the town of
Komatipoort, as the trucks often become a major bottleneck on an increasingly
important export corridor for South Africa’s mining companies.
The Logistics Company wants to build a parking area on the
outskirts of Komatipoort that will have immigration and customs facilities and
upgrade existing gravel roads that trucks will use to proceed to a rail
terminal it has built on the Mozambican side of the border.
“All suggested negative impacts can be mitigated to
lower the impact on the environment to an acceptable level,” including the
concerns raised by South African National Parks, the state agency that runs the
Kruger reserve, according to Hennie Jooste, the company’s head of operations.
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