The Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) is actively engaging with developers on a major new trade route that will link Kolwezi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Walvis Bay in Namibia, bypassing the heavily congested Copperbelt region and the overburdened Kasumbalesa border post.
According to Mbahupu Hippy Tjivikua, CEO of the WBCG, the new route, referred to by some logistics professionals as the "North-Western Corridor", will run from Kolwezi down to Solwezi in Zambia, across to Mongu, south-west to Katima Mulilo and onward to Walvis Bay.
Developers have already signed a concession agreement and are preparing to build new roads and a new border post between the DRC and Zambia, eliminating the need for cargo to pass through Kasumbalesa.
Notably, the new corridor will be 235km shorter than the current Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi corridor and up to seven days faster.
This comes on the back of new and existing copper developments in the DRC and Zambia, where output is expected to increase significantly over the next few years.
The DRC last year officially became the world’s second-largest producer of copper, with production nearing three million tons per year. Zambia has announced its intention to gear up production to over one million tons annually.
- Read the full article in our Freight Features edition on "Namibia".
