Dry or inland ports are helping to reduce the logistics costs of doing business in the southern African region. They are being established by both private companies and parastatals – in some cases as a joint venture.South Africa has the largest number of facilities classified as dry ports.One of the newest is a DP World inland container depot (ICD) at Komatipoort on the main trade route between South Africa and the Port of Maputo. The facility, according to the company, is the first ICD in southern Africa to be approved as a bonded container depot by the South African Revenue Service (Sars). But, it will have competition. Dar es Salaam is becoming more competitive against Durban with the development of a dry port in Kapiri Mposhi in central Zambia. The government of Zambia has signed a US$147m deal with Africa Inland Container Depot (AFICD) of Tanzania for the establishment of the dry port to serve as a logistics and industrial hub for clients across “eastern, central and southern Africa”, according to a statement issued by the Zambian government.Kapiri Mposhi is 1 737 kilometres from Dar Es Salaam and 2 329 km from Durban. Beira is the closest port at 1 289 km. There is a dry port at Mutare on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia which claims to “bring the sea to Zimbabwe”. Beira itself has the Independent Beira Logistics Terminals and Services (IBLTS), which went live in August 2013 as the first purpose-built dry port in the region.Wa lv i s Bay, 2 140 km away from Kapiri Mphoshi, already hosts a Zambian dry port – as well as dry ports for Zimbabwe and Botswana, all of which are situated within the port compound.The Walvis Bay dry ports are designed to attract cargo through the port.Namibia has plans for at least two other major dry ports to stimulate value-adding industrialisation of the economy.Botswana Railways has commissioned a study into the feasibility of a dry port at Gobabis near the eastern Namibia-Botswana border, which has been on the cards since at least 2012.The proposed dry port is a joint project by SeaRail and the Namibian rail utility TransNamib. A Botswana Railways subsidiary, SeaRail operates the Botswana dry port in Walvis Bay. TransNamib is also promoting Grootfontein as a dry port which will serve as a multimodal hub for freight between Walvis Bay and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia.It has broad support from the industry and public sector for freight to be railed between Walvis Bay and Grootfontein and then road-hauled into the neighbouring territories.According to TransNamib chief executive officer Johny Smith, the dry port will reduce the road haul leg between Lubumbashi in the DRC and Walvis Bay from 2 500 km to 1 400 km.There is already a dry port under construction on the route – at Kasumbalesa on the DRC/Zambia border.Dar es Salaam is becoming more competitive against Durban with the development of a dry port in Kapiri Mposhi in central Zambia.
