Major investments will streamline cargo flow

Millions are being invested in southern African freight corridors, funded by both government and the private sector through public-private partnerships. Major investments include $1.4 billion on the Maputo corridor to Gauteng and $6bn on the Lobito rail and port project. Three of the biggest projects are in Mozambique. The multimodal Maputo Logistics Corridor connects Maputo port to the Kingdom of Eswatini and the South African provinces of Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Gauteng. It is one of the focus areas of the 2022 Maputo Port Masterplan, which sees volumes growing to 42 million tons a year in 2033, and 54m by 2043. Investment in the port includes the expansion of the bulk terminal to 16 million tons, ongoing investment in the DP World container terminal to handle 530 000 TEUs a year, capacity expansion works at Grindrod’s magnetite and coal terminal to 12 million tons, and the progressive improvement of efficiency along the logistics corridor through coordinated interventions at key nodes such as Km4, Kudumba and Trans African Concession, which manages the N4 Toll Route on the Maputo Corridor. “Our focus remains on building a competitive, integrated and sustainable corridor that supports Mozambique’s long- term economic development,” said Osório Lucas, chief executive officer of MPDC when announcing that the port had handled record volumes in 2025. To the north of Mozambique, investment in the Beira Corridor includes ongoing dredging of the port and access channel, rebuilding of the Machipanda railway line and the rehabilitation of the N6 road. A consortium of private companies is investing $160m in the construction of an access road to the Port of Beira and the Dondo Logistics Terminal through a public-private partnership, according to a government statement. Developments on the Nacala Corridor, which runs through Malawi to Zambia, include extensive upgrades to the Port of Nacala and the shared rail line. Initially built to move coal, the line is now used for agricultural imports and exports as well through the establishment of a logistics park. In February 2026, the Mozambican government announced plans to concession the expansion and development of the port. South African corridors include North-South, linking Durban with the rest of Africa; the Musina Corridor through Beitbridge to Zimbabwe; and the Eastern Cape corridor between the deep-sea port of Ngqura and Gauteng. Developments on the Durban- Johannesburg corridor include a number of logistics parks and multimodal transfer facilities. The Musina Makhado Special Economic Zone is being developed as a logistics and processing hub on the South Africa/Zimbabwe border at Beitbridge. Plans to upgrade the rail link between Ngqura and Gauteng have been on the drawing board for some time. ER