Zambia is putting the
building blocks in place
to leverage its geographic
position to become a
transport and logistics hub for
southern and central Africa.
Government is allocating millions
to the refurbishment and building of
road and rail links both within the
country and to its borders.
It is also working with
neighbouring governments, road
and rail agencies to synchronise the
investments.
“Zambia, being a landlocked
country, lies in the centre of the
southern African region and
therefore relies heavily on her
neighbours for vital routes to various
import and export destinations,” says
the Zambia Development Agency in
a sector profile published in 2013.
It says transport infrastructure
covers roads and bridges, railways,
airports and aerodromes and
maritime and inland waterways.
The agency is forthright about
the challenges facing the shipping
industry: “The state of transport
infrastructure remains inadequate
to sustain and match the desired
levels of growth due to weak
structural and management capacity
resulting in over-commitment,
high cost of construction and low
investment”.
Action is however being taken.
Government is seeking to
strongly address these challenges
and is focusing on construction,
rehabilitation and maintenance of
physical infrastructure.
The logistics industry is taking
note. Managers interviewed by
FTW are now talking about an
“east-west” trade axis, which is
replacing the dependence on South
African ports – and Durban in
particular.
A number of freight forwarding
and transport companies are opening
up offices or appointing agents in
ports like Walvis Bay and Nacala
– and beefing up their presence in
Beira and Dar es Salaam.
Although it has raised
US$1.75 billion in two successful
Eurobond issues, the government
has recognised that it needs to
partner with the private sector to
support infrastructure development.
“Key projects to be procured
under the PPP (public private
partnership) arrangement will
transcend sectors and include
roads, railways, border support
infrastructure, energy, estate and
housing, agriculture services, health
and airports,” says the Development
Agency.
Returns on the road
infrastructure will come from tolling
– which hauliers fear will increase
the cost of using road freight and
drive volumes back onto rail.
Priority toll routes identified by
the government include Solwezi
to Kazungula (with a spur to
Kasumbalesa); Kapiri Mposhi to
Nakonde; and Lusaka to Mchinji via
Chipata.
“Developed and managed
properly, this project could make
Zambia a transportation hub for
southern Africa,” says the agency.
Road rehabilitation and building
falls under the Link Zambia 8000
Project, which is expected to see at
least five years of construction at a
cost of between $5 and $6 billion.
Private sector investors are also
invited to participate in the rail
revival.
These plans, if implemented,
will connect Zambia to the ports of
Lobito, Beira, Nacala and Walvis
Bay by rail.
Inland links include providing
rail access to the Great Lakes region
through Zambia.
Work has already started on
improving air access to the country.
“The developments include the
runways, terminals and auxiliary
facilities in and around the airports
such as hotels, shopping malls,
conference facilities etc.
“Scope for private sector
participation in development of
airports also exists in airfields at
Chipata, Kitwe, Kasama, Mongu,
Solwezi and Mansa,” says the
Development Agency.
CAPTION
Road rehabilitation extends to the cities – the main
street through central Ndola is given a makeover.
