Zambia commits to becoming a transport, logistics hub in southern African region

Government says it is committed to transforming Zambia into a regional transport and logistics hub through the development of trade as well as transport corridors.

This would be done by promoting and involvement of the private sector in infrastructure development and service provision.

This is according to the Transport and Logistics Minister, Frank Tayali, at the 13th Ordinary Inter-State Council of Ministers Meeting for the Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency (CCTTFA) held in Lubumbashi.

Tayali said the catalytic role that the transport sector played towards social and economic development of any country and the region as a whole could not be over emphasised.

During the meeting, Tayali called on the Central Corridor Member States and the Secretariat to work together at resolving challenges that impeded on the smooth movement of cargo and the people among the countries.

“The Zambian Government is working tirelessly at improving transport infrastructure for Roads, Railways, Aviation, Dry Ports and Boarder Posts,” he said.

Among the challenges raised by Tayali included high increase of overloaded trucks that were using the Kasumbalesa Border to transport copper concentrates and acid to smelters on the Copper belt towns.

He explained that this was due to differences in axle load limits between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia.

Other challenges raised by the Minister included lack of mutual recognition of each other’s certificates that were issued by competent authorities as well as non -harmonisation of road transport regulations such as permissible vehicle lengths.

“We need to enhance collaboration with all the key stakeholders in the transport sector in resolving the challenges adding that member states should work towards setting up a robust monitoring and evaluation system in order to measure progress and ensure regular reporting,” Tayali said.

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