A round 2018 Zambia started positioning itself as being “land-linked” rather than “landlocked”. This change of mindset has enabled it to position itself as the logistics hub for central and southern Africa.Importers and exporters have the choice of six ports and logistics corridors.Growing volumes on the other routes show that shippers are questioning the use of Durban as the default gateway. It is the farthest port by a factor of 400 kilometres from Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).Walvis Bay is the second farthest, and Beira the closest, followed by Maputo and then Lobito.Rail links exist between Lubumbashi and Beira, Dar es Salaam, Maputo and Durban, and volumes are reported to be growing, particularly to Dar es Salaam and Beira.The Dar es Salaam service from Ndola is now run privately, and there is interest in developing a medium-speed link between Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Beira in Mozambique.In March 2020, United States-based Railnet signed an agreement with Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to invest an estimated US$11 billion in constructing a railway line and a high-speed train linking the three countries through Harare.For now, the majority of freight travels by road, and there is increasingly stiff competition between the different ports for the cargo.This is good news for companies using Zambia as a hub for exporting into Central Africa, the DRC, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Botswana as it is helping to reduce the cost of doing business.Larger volumes will also help reduce costs. According to a Bloomberg report, copper producers are ready to start expansion projects worth $2 billion in Zambia next year if the industry can reach an agreement on royalties with President Hakainde Hichilema’s new administration.
