MOZAMBIQUE and neighbouring Zimbabwe on Monday agreed to launch the Beira Development Corridor, a road and railway network linking landlocked Zimbabwe to the Indian Ocean. The decision was announced after talks between heads of state of the two countries, Joaquim Chissano and Robert Mugabe in the Mozambique central port city of Beira. A memorandum of understanding signed by the two leaders says the Beira Development Corridor will be launched mid-October. A road and railway network aleady exist between the two neighbours, but operate below capacity due to non-maintainance, among other factors. Zimbabwe used to be the main user of Beira port but due to its economic crisis the flow of Zimbabwean freight has fallen drastically. A similar corridor in southern Mozambique is already operational. The Maputo Development Corridor comprises a modern road linking Maputo and the South African city of Witbank, and a railway line between the two states. – Sapa