BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe has taken delivery of 12,000 tons of rail from China to replace aging rail which is now more than 100 years old.

The rail would replace 1,300 km of rail in Zimbabwe's network which has outlived its life span, Zimbabwe's Transport and Communications Minister Chri Mushohwe told Xinhua in an interview on Thursday.

The rail was imported from China at a cost of 10.4 million US dollars, with the assistance of the North Limpopo Projects Investments, the latest deal on the list of growing investment and trade deals between Zimbabwe and China, the minister said.

Mushohwe also said in a speech read at Rutenga railway Station, 170 km south of Harare, the relations between Zimbabwe and China are growing.

He said the Zimbabwean government would soon take over the maintenance of the rail network from the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) to allow the parastatal to concentrate on operations. NRZ General Manager Mike Karakadzai said the existing rail, laid in 1897, had outlived its lifespan since it was supposed to be replaced after every 50 years.

"With the new rail, we will be able to restore and upgrade our railway system, which gives us a sense of security for goods and passengers because worn out rail cause derailments," he said.

The ceremony was witnessed by cabinet ministers, NRZ board members and Chinese officials. NRZ board chairman Douglas Nyikayaramba said the new rail would help the company revive the country's economy through transporting either imported or export goods.

"Our communication system is being vandalized yet its so expensive to replace. Our appeal, therefore is that every Zimbabwean should police our equipment because it's for our benefit as a nation," he said. On August this year, at least eight people died when two trains collided near the resort town of Victoria falls in northern Zimbabwe after the two train drivers failed to communicate owing to vandalized equipment.