Bridge invests in depot upgrades

It is not all doom and gloom in the Zambian Copperbelt, says Chris Ayres, director of Bridge Shipping in Zambia. “With the slump in the copper price, we have seen a marked decrease in volumes of metals being moved from the region in the first half of 2009 compared to the last two quarters of 2008,” says Ayres. “The copper price is strengthening and we can therefore expect to see more activity from the mines, not just here in Zambia but also in the DRC. Although experts are still hesitant over trading prices, we are starting to see a lot more movement within the Copperbelt.” Bridge, which has been involved in several exciting projects recently – like the forwarding of two transformers weighing in at 111 tons each to the new Chambishi Copper Smelter – is not letting the slowdown in mining activity affect business. With warehousing capacity to handle 20 000 tons of bulk and 12 000 tons of one ton bags per month, as well as road and rail weighbridges at its facility, the company operates one of the premium depots in the Copperbelt. Having recently refurbished the roads in its depot, Ayres says this was just one way of showing its commitment to the region. “In a public-private partnership with our landlords, the Food Reserve Agency, this represented an investment of US$650 000. “The rehabilitation has resulted in more efficient road traffic through our depot. This, we have proved, allows us to provide our clients with an efficient and complete supply chain solution through to our state-of-the-art facilities in Johannesburg and Durban.” According to Ayres, the company continues to focus on northbound loads from South Africa to Zambia, project cargo and soft commodities coming into the country, and the tobacco industry. Bridge is also involved in the movement of project cargo from the Far East for the construction of the new stadium being built. The official Zambian soccer stadium will be situated just outside Ndola where work has already started on the massive construction site.