Door-to-door express service keeps Angola-bound cargo moving

With its target set firmly on Angola, one of the world’s fastest growing economies, Chavda Freight is investing its money where its mouth is. Hannes Rust, managing director of Chavda Freight, says thanks to its oil exports and the construction of housing and infrastructure in the past few years, Angola is a mine of opportunity for the Johannesburgbased company that provides clients with an integrated logistics service which includes imports and exports by air, sea and road. “A large part of Angola’s infrastructure was destroyed in the wars or collapsed due to the scorched earth policy of the Portuguese when they abandoned the country in the seventies,” says Rust. “This means that an enormous amount of effort is now necessary to reconstruct and re-establish this infrastructure. That opens up several opportunities.” According to Rust, who has several Portuguese-speaking staff members, there is big potential in Angola, currently Africa’s top oil producer. “Language always remains a barrier – and having employees who speak Portuguese is not only good for Angola, but also for Mozambique where we are currently sending a lot of cargo. This country is also a new market opportunity for us.” Due to the congestion at the Port of Luanda, Chavda Freight is focusing much of its attention on road. With the Angolan government intent on building roads, houses, shops and hotels, trade with the country continues to grow. “We recently purchased a smaller vehicle with a payload capacity of eight tons to provide an alternative for the big demand for roadfreight express and consolidation loads into Angola,” says Rust. “This vehicle, together with a few other contracted vehicles, will be carrying consolidation cargo and one vehicle will be leaving Johannesburg for Luanda every week. This will make us one of the few companies offering a door-todoor express service to Angola.”