From Angola to Namibia, Mozambique and Tanzania, there is a significant surge in improving port efficiencies and developing hinterland linkages in a bid to compete with South African logistics.Whether it’s high-grade coal from Botswana or copper and cobalt from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia, corridor concerns from coastal countries fringing the Southern African Development Community (SADC) all agree – there’s a race to provide alternatives for the troubled north-south line to the Port of Durban.
To figure out where South Africa is in relation to this corridor curve of freight linkages and its development, it’s important to take a bird’s eye view of the whole region.AngolaSince João Lourenço took over leadership of the corruption-crippled oil-rich nation, Angola has been undergoing a transformation of sorts, throwing the book at those who benefited from well over 30years of criminal rule under José Eduardo dos Santos.
According to Duncan Bonnett of Africa House, Angola is considering privatising 195 state-owned enterprises and companies.“It will include almost all of their logistics infrastructure, ports, road and rail,” says the trade consultancy’s director for market access and research.“It’s also no secret that one of the terminals in Luanda is up for concesssion, which will be awarded in June or July.
It’s all in accordance with Angola’s transport masterplan and we can expect similar development further south to the ports of Lobito and Namibe.”Lobito is already rail linked via the Benguela corridor with the DRC border due east, with only about 15 kilometres of infrastructure required to connect with the Congo line going all the way into the copper belt.
Says Bonnett: “The Angolan side of that line is running well but apparently there are issues with the load it can carry. And on the Congolese side the line (which dates back to Belgium’s colonial rule) is a wreck.“But it’s not just rail. They’re already trucking stuff through. They’re taking cement and building material into the DRC and on the back-haul its copper and cobalt.”Of major concern, he emphasises, is that Angola is targeting Asian suppliers operating in resource-rich landlocked countries.“If they get it right it could have a major impact on supplies from and through South Africa making their way into the copper belt.
“From a South African perspective we have always been the preferred supplier because we used to be the only supplier. The state of the ports in Angola, Tanzania, and Namibia to a lesser degree, also meant that it was quicker and easier to route supplies through Durban or up from Gauteng – but if efficiencies to the SADC’s West Coast ports improve, where does it leave South Africa?” NamibiaMuch has been written about the development of Namibia’s logistics sector, a key strategic focus point of its national infrastructural development plan.Should it be concerned though about what’s happening north of the Kunene River? Bonnett says no.
“They’re obviously looking at what’s happening in Angola but they’re already quite ahead in South Africa and the corridor curve – quo vadis?developing their corridor” – the one leading up from the Port of Walvis Bay through the Caprivi panhandle to the border intersection with Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia where a major bridge across the Zambezi will open sometime this year.
The jury’s out though about what’s happening with the heavy-haul line between Walvis and Grootfontein and how far TransNamib is with its plans to take infrastructure beyond Katimo Mulilo to Kasane in Botswana.At a distance of about 900 kilometres, word is that Namibia is struggling to find financers for the project.
Should it go ahead though, especially once the multi-modal Kazangula Bridge is open, the Walvis Bay corridor has all the hallmarks of a logistical game-changer for the region.Namibia is particularly interested in Zambia, Bonnett says.
“But if you could upgrade the link between Kolwezi and Solwezi (the respective mining nerve centres in the DRC and Zambia), Walvis could become a far more prominent player.”
MozambiqueCommenting on news that plans are afoot to take a coal line from Botswana’s north-east through Zimbabwe out via a new port envisioned for Techobanine south of Maputo in Mozambique, Bonnett’s view is that it will probably never happen.“Every time TransNamib’s plans to take a line through Botswana’s interior falls through, the Techobanine project is revived.
“The most pressing concern in relation to the Techobanine line is how countries like Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique fund a project like this. It has always been a key issue."