Revamped Zambia depot facilitates cargo handling

Celtic Freight, Zambia has recently completed the revamp of its depot with 15 000 m2 under concrete and a new 2 100 m2 transit shed in which cargo and containers can be easily handled. “Our depot has its own fully operational rail siding which ensures that trains can be quickly offloaded, and with our newly acquired double stacking Hammar Side Shifter, containers weighing up to 33 tons can be handled with ease,” says Aileen Ryan, Celtic Freight’s head of marketing. The side shifter also assists in faster turnaround times for the offloading of vehicles in the depot. Celtic Freight already has two side shifters operating in Zambia, but believes that Zambia is a growing market for the freight industry and deserves this kind of investment in infrastructure. To cope with the constant demand created by increasing volumes moving between South Africa and Zambia, Celtic Freight has also invested in 15 new truck and trailer combinations which will be in operation before the Christmas season picks up. “By adding the 15 new trucks to our fleet, it now comprises 92 over-border rigs. We believe that this will help ease some of the pressures that are currently being felt in the industry of too much cargo bound for Zambia,” Ryan concludes.