A new US$ 5-million bonded
staging facility situated 400
metres from the Zambia-side boom
at the Kasumbalesa border post is
reducing transit times between the
two countries.
This 12 000-sqm warehouse and
staging facility is equipped with a
24-metre weighbridge and protected
by 24-hour-a-day security, according
to Ruud Walgaard of Reload
Logistics.
The facility is designed to transfer
breakbulk cargo, bagged cargo,
copper anodes and blisters between
trucks registered in the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) and
Zambia or other countries in the
region.
Road freight in the DRC is de facto
carried only by vehicles registered in
that country.
With the new facility
shippers are given a choice
of which ports to use for
exports and imports.
Trucks have been turned around
fully loaded with new cargo in an
hour and 20 minutes, Walgaard says.
The cargo is stored on site
when the arrival of vehicles is not
synchronised, or when it needs to be
cleared through customs.
Cargo is pre-cleared by Reload
Logistics, which provides on-site
customs brokerage services.
Hauliers benefit because their
equipment is kept on the road rather
than waiting for clearance, says
Walgaard who with his partner Rubi
Sabag have a combined 25 years of
experience working on the Zambia-
DRC route.
“It is because we understand the
route so well that we were able to
identify the need for
the facility at the
border post,”
says Sabag.
INSERT & CAPTION
With the new facility
shippers are given a
choice of which ports
to use for exports and
imports.
– Ruud Walgaard
CAPTION
The new Reload bond staging facility at the Kasumbalesa border post.
