Demand for warehousing and delivery services for consolidated road freight into Zambia is taking off, according to Chrispin Chiinda, head of CEE CEE Freight & Suppliers. The growth is being driven by some stabilisation of the copper price and the Zambian kwacha, he says. “There is a lot of activity,” he told FTW. New mines are being opened, and many of those that shut down when the copper price fell are being reopened. There are also “a lot of companies doing mineral exploration”. CEE CEE Freight project manages the export of cobalt and copper by road for one of the larger mines. In response to the demand for smaller loads, the company is moving its road freight operations from its warehouse at the Lusaka International Airport to the city. The air freight warehouse operations will stay at the airport, which is about 20 kilometres outside Lusaka. Chiinda says smaller loads of road freight bound for Zambia are being consolidated in Johannesburg and Dar es Salaam. CEE CEE unpacks the containers in Lusaka. The new warehouse will be able to handle 30-ton loads, with storage for up to 60 tons of freight. “We will offer warehousing, handling, storage and consolidation services from the new premises,” says Chiinda. It plans to expand into door-to-door services “from China through to the destination in Zambia,” he says. Agreements are already in place with forwarders in Dubai, South Africa and Hong Kong.
