Second perishables facility earmarked for Lusaka Airport

Plans are well in progress for a
second perishables handling
facility at Lusaka International
Airport.
“There is growth in demand for
handling facilities for export quality
agricultural products such as fresh
flowers and vegetables, as well as
imports of pharmaceuticals such as
vaccines, and I believe that there is
also a huge potential for meat exports
from Zambia,” says Jonathan Lewis,
managing director of NAC2000.
NAC2000 Corporation is well
positioned to offer airfreight services
to neighbouring countries and
beyond, says Lewis.
“Zambia’s ideal geographical
location makes it a natural air cargo
hub, and there is huge potential to
access the market potential within the
region,” he says.
It is estimated that there are over
200 million people in the Comesa/
SADC region.
The company plans to add the new
perishables terminal to its aircraft
ground handling, clearing and
forwarding and warehousing services.
“We have been allocated a prime
site at Lusaka International Airport
and preparations for construction of
the facility are at an advanced stage,”
he told FTW.
The new facility will be adjacent
to the company’s head office
at the Lusaka airport Freight
Village, where it already has over
1 200m2 of secure warehousing.
NAC2000 also has offices at
Ndola, Livingstone, Chirundu and
Nakonde, some of which have
access to warehouses.
The new perishables terminal will
complement plans to upgrade the
main international airports in Zambia
by the parastatal airports authority
National Airports Corporation.
Lewis believes the increase in
economic activity indicates that
the Zambian economy is starting
to recover. “We have noticed a
growing demand for the services of
NAC2000 and we are also seeing
more mining equipment coming into
the country.”
The company’s specialised
equipment includes high loaders
capable of handling up to 20 tons of
air cargo in one lift.
The company has also noted
growing volumes of passengers and
freight on Kenya Airways scheduled
flights, for which it is the local agent.
“Zambezi Airlines is also
expanding. The more activity, the
better, as it increases the available
freight capacity,” he says.