In a resort hall beside Victoria Falls in late October, officials, financiers and industry leaders gathered under the Beira Corridor Forum to ask an old question in a new form: how a landlocked region keeps its engines running when its fuel must travel a long way from the sea. The operator CPMZ answered with steel and capacity, promising to lift its pipeline from three to five million cubic metres a year by late 2027. Yet the speakers returned again and again to a quieter truth, that a pipe is only as useful as the storage tanks, ports, and border crossings that surround it. The forum closed n
Beira Corridor Forum Urges Deeper Regional Ties to Secure Southern Africa's Fuel Supply
The forum's value will be measured by whether anyone acts on it.
Mark
Why does a pipeline expansion get a whole forum?
Mimi
Because several landlocked or inland markets rely on this one route for fuel. Zambia's energy permanent secretary tied it directly to mining, farming, manufacturing and transport.
Mark
What exactly is changing?
Mimi
The Beira–Feruka pipeline goes from three to five million cubic metres a year by December 2027, with two more pumping stations.
Luke
And the demand case behind that? I'd want to know whose number it is.
Mimi
S&P Global Energy projects about 35 percent growth in the Beira Supply Zone over ten years, roughly four million cubic metres more.
Luke
Right, a consultancy projection, presented at an event and reported in a release distributed for CPMZ. It's not independent confirmation.
Mark
Several speakers said pipeline capacity isn't enough. What else is needed?
Mimi
Storage, ports, transport links, border procedures. Mabote spoke of lower logistics costs and shorter waiting times.
Luke
Notably, none of that comes with figures or funding in what we have. Those are stated needs, not commitments.
Mark
Dias da Cunha wants Harare as a distribution hub. Is that settled?
Luke
It's described as an aim. Nothing here says how or when it happens.
Mimi
Which is why Mabote's point matters: the forum's worth depends on follow-through.
El Pulso
- A pipeline built to carry fuel farther is racing against demand projected to climb about 35 percent over the next decade.
- Officials warn that extra pipeline capacity will sit idle unless storage, ports, and border procedures keep pace.
- Delegates from Zambia, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe are pressing for coordinated planning, public-private partnerships, and cheaper, faster logistics.
- The expansion to five million cubic metres by December 2027 is concrete, but the broader corridor agenda remains a set of recommendations awaiting commitments.
In a resort hall beside Victoria Falls in late October, officials, financiers and industry leaders gathered under the Beira Corridor Forum to ask an old question in a new form: how a landlocked region keeps its engines running when its fuel must travel a long way from the sea. The operator CPMZ answered with steel and capacity, promising to lift its pipeline from three to five million cubic metres a year by late 2027. Yet the speakers returned again and again to a quieter truth, that a pipe is only as useful as the storage tanks, ports, and border crossings that surround it. The forum closed not with a finished plan but with a shared intention, and whether that intention hardens into commitment is the story now unfolding.
On 27 October, at the Radisson Blu Mosi-Oa-Tunya Livingstone Resort in Zambia, government officials, regulators, investors and industry figures gathered for the Beira Corridor Forum 2026. Convened by CPMZ, the meeting ended with a call for closer regional cooperation, coordinated infrastructure spending and strategic partnerships to keep fuel flowing across Southern Africa. The corridor serves Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana and Katanga in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and delegates spoke of making it more competitive and worth the investment in the markets it serves.
The most tangible news came from CPMZ, which is expanding the Beira–Feruka pipeline from three to five million cubic metres a year by December 2027, adding two pumping stations. Managing director Patrick Dias da Cunha credited the partnerships with the governments of Mozambique and Zimbabwe and said he hopes to make Harare a distribution hub for neighbouring markets. S&P Global Energy's Daniel Evans projected that demand in the Beira Supply Zone will grow about 35 percent over the decade. These are the firm's own projections, relayed through a release distributed on CPMZ's behalf.
Zambia's Permanent Secretary for Energy, Professor Ephraim Kabunda Munshifwa, described a country that depends on its links to the sea and on reliable fuel for mining, farming, manufacturing and transport. He welcomed the expansion but warned that pipes alone would not solve the problem. Osam Iyahen of the Africa Finance Corporation argued that corridors should be judged by the economic opportunities they create, not only by the volume they move. Mozambique's Eng. Chinguane Mabote pressed for follow-through, insisting the meeting's worth would be measured by action, and that lower logistics costs and shorter waiting times mattered as much as capacity.
The forum closed with a shared commitment to turn dialogue into practical collaboration. What comes next is whether recommendations on storage, ports and border procedures become binding commitments, and whether they arrive in step with the pipeline's December 2027 deadline.
On 27 October, in a conference hall at the Radisson Blu Mosi-Oa-Tunya Livingstone Resort in Zambia, government officials, regulators, investors, financiers, infrastructure operators and industry figures gathered for the Beira Corridor Forum 2026. The event was convened by Companhia do Pipeline Moçambique-Zimbabwe, known as CPMZ, and it closed with a call for closer regional cooperation, coordinated infrastructure spending and strategic partnerships to secure fuel supply across Southern Africa.
The corridor at the center of the discussion supplies fuel to Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana and the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Delegates talked about making the route more competitive, diversifying regional supply routes, and making sure that infrastructure spending produces tangible economic benefits in the markets it serves.
The most concrete piece of news was physical. CPMZ is expanding the Beira–Feruka pipeline, raising its annual transport capacity from three million to five million cubic metres by December 2027. The project includes two additional pumping stations. Patrick Dias da Cunha, a board member and the managing director of CPMZ, credited the company's partnerships with the governments of Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and said the aim is to position Harare as a fuel distribution hub for neighbouring markets including Zambia, Malawi, Botswana and the DRC.
The demand case came from Daniel Evans, a vice-president at S&P Global Energy. Presenting an outlook titled Security of Supply in a Volatile Environment, he said the firm projects fuel demand in the Beira Supply Zone will rise by about 35 percent over the next decade, an additional four million cubic metres, with growth continuing beyond that. He added that Africa is the only region where S&P Global Energy projects demand growth for decades across all of its scenarios. These figures are the firm's projections, presented at the forum and relayed in a release distributed on CPMZ's behalf.
Zambia's perspective came from Professor Ephraim Kabunda Munshifwa, Permanent Secretary for Energy at the Ministry of Energy. He tied reliable fuel to the country's mining, agriculture, manufacturing and transport sectors. Zambia is land-linked, he said, and depends on efficient, diversified connections to regional seaports. A stronger Beira Corridor could widen supply options and improve reliability, but he cautioned that more pipeline capacity must be matched by investment in storage, transport infrastructure and efficient border procedures. He welcomed the expansion and urged greater cooperation among Zambia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, backed by transparent regulation, efficient logistics and commercially sustainable investment.
Osam Iyahen of the Africa Finance Corporation delivered the keynote. He argued that the corridor should be judged not only by how much fuel it can move but by the economic opportunities it creates, and that the future of Africa's economic corridors depends as much on the partnerships linking infrastructure as on the infrastructure itself. He called for stronger cross-border coordination, integrated planning, engagement with major industrial customers, and investment in complementary logistics and industrial facilities.
Eng. Chinguane Mabote, Secretary of State at Mozambique's Ministry of Transport and Logistics, pressed for follow-through. The meeting's value, he said, will be measured by whether participants act on the opportunities and recommendations identified. He stressed that pipeline expansion must be accompanied by gains in port, storage and distribution capacity, supported by public-private partnerships, and that competitiveness depends on lower logistics costs, shorter waiting times and reliable services, with closer coordination among Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and regional partners.
The forum ended with a shared emphasis on turning dialogue into practical collaboration. What to watch is whether the recommendations become commitments on storage, ports and border procedures, and whether those arrive alongside the pipeline's December 2027 target.
Citas Notables
The future of Africa's economic corridors will depend as much on the partnerships connecting our infrastructure as on the infrastructure itself.— Osam Iyahen, Africa Finance Corporation
Increased pipeline capacity must be complemented by coordinated investment in storage, transport infrastructure and efficient border procedures.— Prof. Ephraim Kabunda Munshifwa, Zambia's Ministry of Energy
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