Future lies in integrated multimodal corridors

Zambia is emerging as an increasingly important player on the Central Corridor, accounting for around 3.5 million tonnes of cargo throughput in 2025 as the regional trade route continues to record strong growth. Central Corridor volumes reached 32 million tonnes last year, up from 25 million tonnes in 2024, while throughput is expected to exceed 40 million tonnes this year. According to Advocate Flory Okonge, executive secretary of the Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency, the figures demonstrate Zambia’s growing importance to the corridor and the opportunity for the country to establish itself as a strategic gateway linking South- Eastern and Central Africa. “With the right investment, policies and partnerships, Zambia can indeed become a true gateway linking South-Eastern and Central Africa,” he said at the Land-Linked Zambia conference. Zambia joined the Central Corridor in 2024, a move Okonge described as a deliberate step towards integrating the country more closely into regional transport networks and supporting its ambition to transition from landlocked to land-linked. He said this was about more than simply connecting Zambia to additional corridors. “It reflects a clear strategy not only to connect to corridors, but to shape and benefit from them as a competitive regional logistics hub.” The Central Corridor connects the Indian Ocean ports of Dar es Salaam, Tanga and Mtwara with markets and production centres across the African interior through road, rail, inland waterways, pipelines and aviation. According to Okonge, one of the most important lessons from more than two decades of coordinating transport and trade along the corridor was that infrastructure alone was no longer enough to determine the competitiveness of a trade route. “Corridors are no longer just physical infrastructure; they are economic ecosystems,” he said. Their success is increasingly determined by how efficiently cargo is moved, how seamlessly borders operate and how effectively the different transport systems are integrated. “Integration is the new currency of competition,” he said. “Africa can no longer afford fragmented systems.” He said the future lay in fully integrated multimodal corridors connecting ports, railways, roads, inland waterways and production zones into a single logistics ecosystem. This was particularly important as corridors increasingly moved beyond their traditional function of transporting cargo between two points. “The Central Corridor is not merely about moving goods from point A to B. It is about transforming economies.” The corridor is therefore increasingly being developed around regional value chains, production, industrialisation, trade and investment rather than transport infrastructure in isolation. A market assessment undertaken in collaboration with the Zambian government highlighted opportunities to strengthen Zambia’s connectivity and handle growing regional trade flows, particularly minerals and agricultural products. Okonge said targeted investment and modernisation could further strengthen Zambia’s access to regional and global markets and reinforce its role as an anchor for regional trade. Innovation and partnerships would be equally important, particularly as corridors sought to become more efficient and climate resilient. “No single institution can achieve this alone,” he said. “It requires strong cooperation between governments, development partners, corridor management institutions and the private sector.” For Zambia, he said, geography should increasingly be viewed as an advantage rather than a constraint. “Zambia is uniquely positioned, not at the centre of concern, but at the centre of opportunity.” Its ambition to move from landlocked to land-linked therefore represents more than a change in terminology. “Let us move from fragmentation to integration, from delays to efficiency and from potential to prosperity,” said Okonge. “Let us build corridors that do not only move goods, but transform economies.” LV