Mishma Chakanyuka, Staff Writer 
THE National Handling Services Zimbabwe (NHS) has embarked on a recapitalisation drive aimed at service delivery improvements.
This follows the commissioning of the expansion project at the Robert Mugabe International Airport earlier this month, which is expected to boost air traffic into the country.
“In pursuit of service delivery, the company has embarked on a recapitalisation drive. We are geared towards infusing technology and state-of-the-art equipment to meet the demands and standards that have been set by the government on the commissioned Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport,” NHS chairman Frank Mukarakate told The Financial Gazette recently.
In 2022, NHS handled a total of 12 559 flights for both domestic and international routes, a 59 percent increase from the 7 888 flights handled in 2021. The company said the flights were five percent below the pre-Covid-19 levels of 13 262 flights per annum. A total of 1,3 million passengers were handled last year compared to 379 657 in the comparable year due to increased frequencies during the year under review.
NHS chief executive, Godknows Marawanyika, said Fastjet and Airlink recorded the highest number of frequencies last year.
Fastjet frequencies increased 231 percent to 4 641 in 2022 from the 1 403 recorded in the prior year while Airlink recorded 2 042 frequencies from the 601 recorded in 2021.
“Overall, most airlines improved their flight frequencies in 2022 compared to 2021. The national borders were opened to international travellers during the last half of 2021 and this contributed to the improvement in flights handled during the period under review,” Marawanyika said.
Meanwhile, NHS is currently working on setting up a logistics company to improve revenue streams, amid the myriad challenges within Zimbabwe’s economy.
“We now have a consultant looking at the feasibility of creating a logistics company.
“Once finalised, we will be approaching the shareholders to pitch the diversification project, which we believe is not only an avenue for growth but will help reduce risk associated with a single focus,” Mukarakate said.
The company is also looking at setting up inland dry ports at Chirundu and Forbes border posts as part of its growth strategy.
“At the moment we are targeting Mutare and Chirundu, but of course… we are going to be looking at all the borders in the country,” Mukarakate said.
“There is a lot of traffic coming from the north through the Chirundu Border Post, there are also substantial volumes of traffic from Beira port into Mutare. So those are our primary focus for the time being before we look at others like Kazungula, possibly Kanyemba… Beitbridge…”
According to Marawanyika, the projects will be funded through public-private partnerships (PPPs).
“We need quite a lot of capital, but that one is strictly on a PPP basis because we are not going to take it out of our coffers… we have two serious private players we are talking to,” he said.
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