HARARE — Zimbabwe has gazetted a new schedule of toll and parking charges for vehicles using the Forbes Border Post, with abnormal-load vehicles facing a US$300 toll and heavy trucks US$170 when the modernised facility begins operating.
The charges are set out in Statutory Instrument 179 of 2026, published on November 6. The instrument covers the border crossing between Zimbabwe and Mozambique and authorises Forbes Border Consortium (Private) Limited, the company responsible for the modernisation project, to collect project tolls.
The fees will not start immediately. The instrument has not yet come into force. The Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development is to announce the start date through a General Notice, and toll collection is tied to the opening of the modernised border post.
For motorists, transport companies and freight operators, the published schedule lists the following tolls:
- Abnormal-load vehicles: US$300
- Heavy vehicles: US$170
- Goods vehicles: US$120
- Coaches: US$100
- Minibuses: US$30
- Light goods vehicles: US$30
- Passenger vehicles: US$20
- Motorcycles: US$5
Parking will carry a separate charge, payable for each day or part of a day. Abnormal-load vehicles will pay US$80, while heavy vehicles and goods vehicles will pay US$40. Coaches, minibuses, light goods vehicles and passenger vehicles will each pay US$10. The schedule does not specify a parking fee for motorcycles.
The toll and parking amounts are listed in United States dollars, with value-added tax excluded where applicable. Drivers or the people in charge of commercial vehicles will be required to pay the project toll at a designated office inside the Forbes Border Customs Area. Zimbabwean and Mozambican border officials, along with government vehicles carrying out official business, are exempt.
The regulations also set out vehicle categories used to calculate charges. A coach is a passenger vehicle with more than 24 seats. A minibus has between eight and 24 seats. Heavy vehicles include goods trucks with a carrying capacity above 10,000 kilograms but below 56,000 kilograms, with separate provisions applying to vehicles towing trailers.
For a freight operator, a journey through the border may therefore involve both a toll and a parking bill if the vehicle waits in the facility. The daily parking rate applies even when the vehicle is parked for only part of a day. The highest combined first-day amount in the schedule is US$380 for an abnormal-load vehicle before any applicable VAT; heavy vehicles face US$210 and goods vehicles US$160 on the same basis.
The charges form part of the financial and operating arrangements for the Forbes Border Post Modernisation Project. Under the new framework, roads within the project area are designated as toll roads, and the consortium is authorised to levy and collect project tolls from vehicles using the customs area. The company’s work includes upgrading the border facility and related services inside and outside the customs area.
Forbes is a key gateway for trade between Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It links the country to the Beira Corridor and the Port of Beira, Mozambique’s main sea outlet for regional cargo. The crossing is about 290 kilometres from the port. Around 55 per cent of cargo handled at Beira is destined for, or originates from, Zimbabwe, making delays at the border a direct concern for the movement of imports and exports.
Congestion has been a recurring problem at Forbes-Machipanda. In a March 2026 survey of more than 1,000 truck drivers, the border and the Port of Beira were each identified by 37 per cent of respondents as among the corridor’s worst delay points. Border waits can exceed 72 hours. The survey estimated that a typical two-day delay could add about US$2,180 to a journey, compared with a base transport cost of roughly US$1,750 for a 44-tonne truckload.
In September, Zimbabwe and Mozambique’s joint border committee agreed to introduce a first-in, first-out traffic system, prohibit parking in the no-man’s-land between the two countries and set up a joint monitoring team. The countries also agreed to pursue a real-time traffic-flow platform and coordinated express lanes for priority, perishable and hazardous cargo. The measures were adopted as both governments worked to improve the movement of trucks and align procedures across the two sides of the crossing.
Infrastructure projects are also under way or in planning to address pressure on the corridor. Zimbabwe’s Mutare Dry Port is being developed to handle overflow cargo and support customs processing away from the immediate border area. Mozambique has approved a US$110 million dry port at Dondo, intended to operate as an extension of the Port of Beira. The projects sit alongside the planned modernisation of Forbes itself.
The border upgrade has involved preparatory work on land, design and utilities. A September progress update said construction mobilisation depended on securing vacant possession of project land and completing outstanding relocation and approval processes. The original expectation that construction would start in July had been affected by unresolved land-access matters. The fee regulations link the start of tolling to the modernised post’s operations rather than to the date the instrument was gazetted.
The schedule creates separate rates for freight vehicles, coaches, smaller commercial vehicles and private motorists, while adding a parking charge for many categories. But the amount any driver will pay at the crossing will depend on the vehicle class, whether parking is used, the length of the stay and the applicable VAT treatment. The formal commencement date is still to be announced by the minister.