Mozambique and Zimbabwe are expanding one of Southern Africa’s most important fuel corridors, as growing demand puts more pressure on the infrastructure connecting the region’s coastal import gateway to its landlocked markets.
Presidents Daniel Chapo of Mozambique and Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe officially launched the expansion of the 294-kilometre Beira–Feruka pipeline in Nhamatanda, Mozambique, this week. The project will raise the pipeline’s annual capacity from 3 million cubic metres to 5 million cubic metres by the end of 2027, representing an increase of about 67%.
The pipeline carries refined petroleum products from Mozambique’s Port of Beira to the Feruka depot in Zimbabwe, where they can then move further inland. Diesel, petrol and jet fuel are among the products transported through the corridor.
But the significance of the project extends well beyond the Mozambique-Zimbabwe border.
A Fuel Gateway for the Southern African Hinterland
Zimbabwe is landlocked, making access to reliable import routes a critical part of its energy security. The Beira Corridor provides one of its most important connections to the Indian Ocean, allowing fuel arriving through Mozambique to move inland without relying entirely on road transport.
And Zimbabwe is not the only market drawing on the corridor.
The wider network serves or supports fuel supplies to Zambia, Malawi, Botswana and the Democratic Republic of Congo, making the Beira route increasingly important to the energy security of the Southern African Development Community.
The numbers show why capacity is being added now.
CPMZ transported close to 2.7 million cubic metres of refined petroleum products in 2025, a 16% increase from the previous year and a record for the company. Zimbabwe's Energy and Power Development Minister, July Moyo, said the existing pipeline had effectively reached its current capacity, while noting that demand from neighbouring countries was also increasing.
The expansion will involve two new pumping stations, at Nhamatanda in Sofala Province and Messica in Manica Province, allowing more fuel to move through the existing system. The work is being coordinated with an expansion of the Feruka–Harare Petrozim Line, extending the benefits further into Zimbabwe's interior.
Building for More Than Zimbabwe
There is a bigger ambition behind the project.
CPMZ is already looking beyond the 5-million-cubic-metre target. Preliminary studies are examining the possibility of replacing the existing pipeline with a larger-diameter system capable of transporting approximately 12 million cubic metres annually, potentially meeting regional demand through 2050. There are also discussions around extending fuel infrastructure towards Zambia's Copperbelt.
That longer-term vision would transform the Beira–Harare route from a bilateral fuel link into an even more significant regional energy corridor.
It also highlights an important infrastructure trend across Africa: landlocked countries need more than fuel; they need dependable corridors that connect them to ports, storage facilities and regional markets.
For Mozambique, the expansion strengthens the strategic role of the Port of Beira and reinforces the country's position as a gateway into Southern Africa. For Zimbabwe and its neighbors, it provides another layer of resilience at a time when fuel demand and regional trade are growing.
The project is therefore not simply about moving an additional two million cubic metres of fuel each year, It is about building a more reliable connection between the coast and the continent’s interior.
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