Airfreight hub makes progress

The sight of large cranes working
daily on a new terminal for
Kenneth Kaunda International
Airport in Lusaka has prompted
airfreight specialist NAC2000
to continue investing in its own
systems and infrastructure to
support plans to make the airport a
regional airfreight hub.
Work started on the new
passenger terminal in June 2015,
and is due to be completed by late
2019.
As part of its US$360-million
expansion, the Zambia Airports
Corporation (ZACL) will be
constructing new aprons, taxiways
and a control tower.
“The vision of Kenneth Kaunda
International serving as an
airfreight hub for the region is
becoming a reality,” says Jonathan
Lewis, managing director of
NAC2000.
In preparation for the expected
growth in airfreight the company
is completing the fitting out of
a new warehouse designed to
handle perishable cargo and
is in a process of continuous
improvement of its internal
systems in order to eliminate
unnecessary and wasteful costs in
its systems.
NAC2000 is the only Zambian
airfreight company to be invited
to participate in a Japanese
International Cooperation Agencysponsored
Kaizen programme.
There is, however, more than
enough capacity at the airport to
handle larger volumes of airfreight,
according to Lewis.
Total capacity is around
9 280 tons of freight a year, with
9 000sqm of warehouse facilities on
the border of the airport.
The necessary ground equipment
is available to handle all types of air
cargo.
NAC2000 also has modern X-ray
equipment, which has enabled it to
obtain Third Country EU Aviation
Security Validated Regulated
Agents (RA3) certification, which
means that clients are able to
export directly into the European
Union out of Lusaka without their
cargo having to be security checked
at another airport.
INSERT & CAPTION
Members of the NAC2000 team in Lusaka – from the left David Mkasunga,
Lulu Dimba, Jonathan Lewis, Evans Nsashila and Karen Kambiambia.