Malawi consolidation service draws diverse customer interest

LEONARD NEILL
THE PROSPECT of road, rail and lake port services being developed in countries such as Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique in a major project announced recently has been received with delight by Umodzi Transport’s Fred Mlombwa. The four countries have joined forces, with assistance from the South African government, in the Mtwara Corridor Development programme, which will upgrade these transportation facilities in a region where industrial and commercial enterprises are emerging on a rapid scale. Getting goods to these destinations is often hampered by poor facilities in some areas, he says. This becomes especially problematic when carrying dangerous goods, which Umodzi does to all four nations, apart from general and containerised transportation. Umodzi’s major operation northbound has been its three-day Malawi consolidation service, developed by Mlombwa when he left his Malawi homeland for South Africa in 1994 and established the company in Johannesburg’s City Deep. His core business centred around supplies and machinery deliveries to Malawi’s sugar mills, and the transportation of equipment southwards for maintenance and repair work which is handled in KwaZulu Natal.